Timothy Ferriss-- Master of the The "4-Hour" Universe

Timothy Ferriss seems strange to me-- a guy always in overdrive, like he's in an headlong rush to get somewhere, has to get there before everyone else, has to measure everything, brainstorm ad nauseam, chew an idea down to its microscopic essence and then spit it out for even more detailed evaluation. The guy is driven, he loves numbers. Timothy Ferriss wrote 4- Hour Workweek and the one I'm more interested in 4- Hour Body. He's a tango dancer, a martial artist, an entrepreneur, an Ivy Leaguer, a bestselling author, a guinea pig for his own ideas and experiments. Timothy doesn't just do something. He does it to death. He does it beyond it, and by it... I mean everything-- food, diet, exercise, sex to beyond saturation. The man is a true American-- doing to excess, measuring compulsively... I get exhausted just staying the name Timothy Ferriss. He's the self-help guru of the millennials, a generation short of time, by their way of thinking.

I have to admit I almost grew to like Timothy Ferriss as I combed through 4- Hour Body. You kind of have to admire a guy who studies the female orgasm and explores the clitoris with the relentless devotion of a dweeby kid learning a new computer game. 

My favorite Ferriss observation from 4-Hour Body  concerns his study of glucose readings. I check my glucose levels as I was diagnosed as pre-diabetic. I prick my finger a few times a day. Ferries implanted a glucometer beneath his skin! I've learned what kind of eating spikes my glucose, usually it is overeating, too much bread, too much carbs and sugar. And Timothy summed up a good approach in his numbers-driven, scientific approach "For Fastest Fat Loss, Minimize Your Blood Sugar Bumps Above 100 To No more Than Two Per Day." (p. 146)

Ferriss correctly observes that rapid fat loss is facilitated by lower glucose levels. He focuses on the number 100-- calls it "Beautiful Number 100"-- and that is a good glucose number to use as your benchline. Have to admit that I was impressed with how close Ferriss's recommendations correlate to what I have learned from checking my blood glucose for over a year now. If I keep my blood glucose number to near 100, or lower, for the greater part of the day, I lose body fat, and feel better and healthier. Got to hand it to that crazy man, his compulsive approach works on occasion-- and he hits the ball out of the park. And, by the way, he can teach you how to hit a baseball in another chapter of the book.

Walk the Prettiest Streets in Your Neighborhood

Choose a great place to walk. Find the prettiest  streets within easy reach of your neighborhood. Your goal, walking 10,000 steps or 5 miles a day, gets more manageable if you locate a healthy, inspiring place to walk. My hometown of Austin, Texas has Hike and Bike trails where there is no worry about traffic.

Think about your neighborhood. Most Americans, outside the major metropolitan areas, have a car.  Use your car to get to the most beautiful streets or trails in your area. Park the car. Get out and start walking. Have a pedometer. If not, wear a wristwatch. Try to walk for 1/2 hour to 1 hour. Depends on your conditioning and the free time available to you. The pedometer can tell you how far you've walked and provide other details. The added information can be very motivational.

Just by walking 20 minutes a day you separate yourself from the unfit masses of couch potatoes. Give yourself credit, psychologically speaking, when you reach the 20 minutes mark. Say "Way to go self!" I find the outdoors to be more fun than any gym.

I found an area about 4 miles from my house. It's hilly. The walk is more aerobic because of the hills. There are sidewalks. Very few cars use the streets because it is a residential area. The streets are free in America. It it's not a gated community, you can get in there. If there are trees and open spaces you can breath the clean air. Nobody has ever stopped me or asked whether I live in the area.

By moving a few miles away from my house for my walk, I actually feel richer.

Eating the Right Foods at the Right Time

"Hardwired for Fitness"
by Robert Portman PhD and John Ivy PhD

This material below is abridged from Hardwired for Fitness (p.121-122)

Breakfast (Restoration 7:00 AM- 9:00 AM)-- The Restoration Meal
You go without food while you sleep. Breakfast reduces the physiological stress of going without food while you sleep. The restoration meal also much recharge your energy in preparation for the mental and physical activities of the day. * Carbohydrate (the body's main source of rapid energy) is a key macronutrient to consume during this interval.

Lunch (Activity 9:00 AM- 5:00 PM)-- The Activity Interval
Your body will perform best by consuming high carbohydrate foods during this interval since your brain relies predominantly on carbohydrates for energy and muscle convert carbohydrates into energy more efficiently than protein or fat.

* Late Afternoon- There is a marked decline in energy expenditures in late afternoon. Thus, the latter stages of Activity Interval represent an ideal time to consume a nutritious supplement that is high in macronutrients, such a fat and protein. These macronutrients are more satiating than carbohydrates.

Dinner (Rebuilding 5:00 PM-- 8:00 PM)-- The Rebuilding Interval

The Rebuilding Interval is the time when the circuit responsible for rebuilding and restoring protein is most active. Foods high in protein are more easily converted into muscle protein. * Protein is the most efficient macronutrient to be consumed during the Rebuilding Interval.

(Late Eaters.... caution-- Overweight Individuals were two or three ties more likely to consume a higher proportion of their daily calories after their evening meal compared with normal weight individuals.

AARP'S 50 Ways to Stay Healthy (10 for the Men)-- Part 5

From AARP magazine, October 2015 (p. 46- 48)

by: Joe Kita (abridged by Blog editor)

41) Buy memories. Boys love toys, but doing stuff is better than buying stuff. Vacations with friends bring me lasting joy than money spent on material things such as cars. Reminiscing about the experience afterward achieves nearly the same level of happiness as the original event.

42) Squirrel away nuts. After age 50, a man's metabolism slows down. A weight-loss trick is to consume whole almonds. Almonds are low calorie (22 nuts have 169 calories) and satisfying and leave you feeling full.

43) Find a purpose. Men, more than women, define themselves by their careers. At retirement, they can lose self-worth, which can lead to depression, excessive drinking and other health problems. Are you at risk? Do you agree with these three statements:

1. I sometimes feel as if I've done all there is to do in life.
2. My daily activities often seem trivial and unimportant to me.
3. I used to set goals, but that now seems like a waste of time.

44) Get a grip. Having a firm handshake is a sign of vitality and long lie. But it's not just weak grip strength that puts you at a higher risk for heart attack, stroke and death. It's overall strength, so commit to  total-body-strength-training program.

45) Stamp out erection issues. Worry over impotency can cause... impotency. Here's a test to see if the problems are physical or psychological. Wrap a length of postage stamps around the base of your penis. Secure the ends together and go to sleep. Repeat for three consecutive nights. (See if your penis has been successfully mailed to Milwaukee-- joke, I'm joking, Blog editor.) If the stamps are torn along a perforation the next morning, you're still having good nocturnal erections, which means any get-it-up difficulties you're experiencing are probably due to emotional stress. (This is one case where snail mail works better than email! And we recommend "Forever" stamps for repeating this experiment for as many years as you like-- joke. I'm joking again!-- Blog editor)

46) Get your lucky 7. Research shows the less people sleep, the faster their brains age. One online brain-training program notes that those who sleep seven hours a night have the best score on its cognitive tests.

47) Build muscle. Between ages 50 and 70, sedentary people lose 30 percent of their muscle strength. You can counter this decline by strength training for just 30 minutes, two or more days a week. After only about 18 to 20 weeks of training, older adults can expect t add about two pounds of muscle and to increase strength by 25 to 30 percent, according to the American Journal of Medicine.

48) Follow the buddy system. Men, especially as they age, tend to become solitary beasts, much less likely to form deep, lasting friendships than women. Researchers say the lack of positive social relationships is comparable to smoking and alcohol consumption for increasing mortality risk. Make an effort to cultivate friends-- both new and old-- and spend more quality time with family.

49) Eat Indian. Most Indian food contains the yellow piece turmeric, with the active ingredient circumin, which may be one of the most powerful antioxidants for men. India, where turmeric is a dietary staple, has one of the lowest prostate cancer rates in the world. Plus, studies have shown that the spice may reduce inflammation as well as fight Alzheimer's disease, arthritis, Parkinson's disease and some cancers.

50) Bone up with a beer. A nice cold beer is not just refreshing, it may also help to strengthen bones. A 2013 report in the International Journal of Endicronology notes that the barley and hops in beer make it a good source of the mineral silicon, important for bone formation and health. Even better: The type of silicon in beer, orthosilicic acid, is extra easy for your bones to absorb.

AARP's 50 Ways to Stay Healthy (10 Ways to Outsmart Diabetes)-- Part 4

From AARP magazine, October 2015 (p. 42- 46)

(abridged by Blog editor)

Over 29 million Americans have diabetes. Another 86 million have pre diabetes. The resulting circulatory, heart and eye problems make life more difficult and sad. Here are 10 ways to prevent or manage the disease.

31) Sprinkle with cinnamon. One gram (just a pinch or light sprinkle) of cinnamon can lower blood sugar levels in people with type 2 diabetes. Try it on your morning cereal, coffee, or dusted on yogurt.

32) Don't just sit there. If you spend two hours a day or more watching television your risk of developing type 2 diabetes increases by 14%, according to a report published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Run around the block between shows...

33) Have a cuppa. Drink more than two cups of coffee (16 ounces) per day.

34) Seek Greek. The famous Mediterranean diet-- vegetables, fruits, legumes, whole grains, fish and red wine-- supplemented with extra-virgin olive oil, can reduce your risk for type 2 diabetes by 30%.

35) Mind your meds. Be aware of the side effects of prescription and non-prescription drug. They may interfere with your blood glucose levels.

36) Stress less. Chronic worry and stress not only contribute to insulin resistance but also make it harder for your pancreas to move blood glucose out of your bloodstream. Relax with meditation and deep breathing.

37) Flex your muscles. A 2012 study in the Archives of Internal Medicine showed that men who lifted weights for at least two and a half hours every week lowered their risk of diabetes by 34 percent.

38) Fix it with food. These foods eaten daily can help you manage your blood sugar.

1. Beans, peas and lentils-- protein rich legumes
2. Dark Chocolate
3. Oatmeal

39) Limit red meat. A study showed that eating an extra half-serving a day of red meat increases the risk of diabetes by 50 percent.

40) Squeeze some citrus. Eating oranges, grapefruits, lemons and other citrus fruits can slow glucose uptake, helping keep your blood sugar levels under control, a study in the journal Preventive Medicine concludes.