What is more valuable than health and vitality? They make everything else possible.

Here are 10 gifts from my practice, in a price range from very little to extravagant, to support the health of your loved ones through the holidays and beyond.  And as you’re reading, remember that you, too, deserve the gift of health.

1. Sweet Healthy Treats
Prepare something that’s both tasty and healthy, package it up on a festive plate  or make it your contribution to the party. On my site you’ll find recipes for many delicious indulgences, including brownies, chocolate cake, chia pudding, chocolate covered nuts, and more. (Can you tell I have a weakness for chocolate? Just make it 70% cocoa or more, or use xylitol instead of sugar, and it qualifies as a food rather than candy. True. Oh yeah!)

Know someone who’s gluten free? Gift them with a whole book of delicious and healthy treats.  This is one of my favorite cookbooks!

2. Bars
Everyone loves these. Use them as stocking stuffers, or as healthy fuel when you’re dashing through the snow. All flavors are gluten free, several are dairy free as well. No junk, low carb, no hydrogenated fats, balanced protein, healthy fat, real food. I will mix a case for you if you like. $2.50 each

Flavors: Chocolate Mint, Chocolate Crispy Rice with Peanuts, Chocolate with Almonds, Berry, Vanilla Almond, Peanut Butter Chocolate, CocoImmune (like a Mounds bar – really!), Spice, Coconut Almond, Goji Berry

3. Gift Certificate
Do you know someone who could use some support making changes in their lifestyle, health or nutrition? Someone who’s been bemoaning the difference between how they want to eat/look/feel and their current state? Why not give them a gift certificate for a session?

My initial consultation is two hours: the first to take a very thorough history (health, nutrition, lifestyle, sleep, emotional, family, etc) and the second to actually start doing some work and putting together a program.  Clients leave their first session with a good idea of what is going on, and how to get started feeling better.  The fee for my initial consultation is $300.

Or, if you really want to support someone in making significant changes, why not give them a gift certificate for my 13 Week Success Program? (pssst: maybe the person you want to support is…. YOU!)

Special Holiday Offer: Give a 13 Week Gift Certificate to someone else, buy one for yourself too, and save $150.  Ask me for details.

All sessions are available locally in my office, and long-distance, via webcam or phone.

4. Xiser

The Xiser is the best exercise I know to blast fat and maintain muscle while helping to heal your metabolism.  And all you need is 3-8 one minute intervals a day, 3 days a week, to get great results.  This is High Intensity Interval Training, and it helps you lose fat and build and/or retain lean muscle. I’ve been touting HIIT for many years, and it is just now starting to get a lot of press.

The really good news? The price on the Xiser has dropped from $449 to $299!

5. HIIT on a Budget

Want to do interval training with a very low investment, and no equipment? I have a great DVD for $18. Lots of fun, lots of variety, and someone to tell you, with humor and brio, exactly what to do!

6. Cell Phone Chips These are small and unobtrusive and are placed on cell phones, computers, and portable phones for protection from radiation. I strongly recommend them for everyone who carries and uses a cell phone, PDA, bluetooth device, lap top, or desk top computer. I put a couple on my car’s dashboard too.

They are $50 each and there is no charge if you want me to drop them in the mail for you. Whether you use them or not, please don’t put your cell phone next to your head (brain). Teach your kids, too.

7. Thieves Spray Another great stocking stuffer and a product I wouldn’t be without. It is ideal for use on door handles, toilet seats, and any surface that needs cleansing to protect from dust, mold, and undesirable microorganisms. I use it in the office regularly, as well as on planes, in hotel rooms, etc. This small bottle is perfect for traveling or keeping in your purse or backpack. $12

8. Valor Essential Oil Blend Valor is an empowering and beautiful blend of spruce, rosewood, blue tansy, and frankincense therapeutic grade essential oils. Designed to increase feelings of strength and courage, it is grounding and centering and my all-time favorite fragrance. $28

9. Xylitol Gum and Mints If you’re not familiar with xylitol and all its benefits, please read my article here. These are a great way to keep from snacking on all those tempting holiday treats.

Gum: $12 for 90 pieces, Mints: $9 for 90 pieces

10. Clean Healthy Water I hope you’re not still buying bottles and carrying water in plastic! A charcoal filter like a Brita is good in a pinch, but for a high quality reverse osmosis system that is a great value, try this one. And please mention that I sent you!

My wish for you in 2011 is that you experience the health, the vitality, and the changes that you’ve always dreamed of and wished for. More is possible than you think, and I would love to be your facilitator. Please let me know how I can support you in making 2011 your best year yet.

Don’t let ANYONE tell you these are the “normal” signs of aging! Now is the time to reclaim your life!

• Thinning hair?
• Tired all the time, and tired of being tired?
• Lost your libido?
• Weight creeping up more than you’d like,
  especially on your belly?
• Feel a little foggy?
• Too tired to exercise?
• Pains in your joints?

In a culture that worships at the altar of youth, what can a woman expect once she reaches her forties and fifties? Is it true that aging means gaining weight, lost libido, thinning hair, and increasing aches, pains and physical woes? Absolutely not! This can be a wonderful time of life, if women learn to take care of themselves as well as they’ve taken care of everyone else in the decades before.

Overworked, overwhelmed, overtired, over-committed, this can be the time when it all starts to unravel. The worst part is the authoritative voices, in doctors’ offices, in the news, on tv and in the movies, suggesting that this is how it’s supposed to be. It almost seems like we’re expected to just roll downhill from here. NOW is the time to reclaim your fabulous, vibrant, sexy, successful, fulfilling life!

Being this age does not have to mean a slow inevitable deterioration with increasing debilitating symptoms. And it certainly doesn’t mean the end of our sensuality or sexuality. It can be a time of great vitality, growth and new freedom. These are the years when lifestyle choices really pay out: the great ones and the not-so-good ones. It’s the time to make the changes that determine the quality of your life for the decades ahead. Decide what you want to change, educate yourself about the options, and get support. Don’t accept conventional wisdom about what can and can’t heal. Much more is possible than you think.

The most important issues at this age are healing the metabolism and balancing hormones. What worked in your 20s, when your body was still geared toward growth and reproduction, no longer works. Women who have been on and off diets and up and down the scale for a couple of decades are almost always insulin resistant. Many also have burned out their adrenals from a combination of chronic stress, too much caffeine and too little sleep. The good news is that we are incredibly resilient: all of this can be healed. To get help right now, either click on the Book Now button to the right and let’s get started.

I Can’t Lose Weight!
Women at this age often complain that they don’t eat much but seem to gain weight anyhow, and losing weight seems impossible. If that’s your experience, you are not wrong, but you probably have a damaged metabolism. Healing your metabolism involves identifying and eliminating food sensitivities; balancing protein, carbs and fat every time you eat, according to your current state; reducing your toxic load, including nicotine, alcohol, artificial sweeteners, refined sugars, and caffeine. And don’t depend on soy for protein. Soy suppresses the thyroid, causing further havoc with your hormones. By making consistently good choices you can heal your metabolism and become a more efficient fat-burner. We don’t get healthy by losing weight – we lose weight by getting healthy.

My Hormones Are Out of Whack!
Somewhere in their forties or fifties almost all women start to experience hormonal changes signaling the end of the reproductive years. Hormonal changes are responsible for many symptoms we associate with aging, including dryness, loss of flexibility, aching joints, thinning hair and plummeting libido. Instead of trying to replace estrogen directly, it’s better to lower cortisol, which is always in inverse relationship to estrogen (as testosterone is, for men). Cortisol is a hormone produced by the adrenal glad in response to stress, and stress hormones take precedence over all other hormones, so if you are stressed, your calming and reproductive hormones drop. Lowering cortisol helps bring all your hormones back into alignment. You can do that by: getting more sleep, reducing caffeine, practicing stress management, and taking Phosphatidyl Serine, a naturally occurring phospholipid, which reduces the cortisol response. PS also improves cognitive function and has been shown to reduce age related declines in memory, including name recall. It also helps you lose belly fat. Therapeutic doses of VItamin C help repair the adrenals and lower cortisol levels. There are so many nutritional changes and supplements you can use that will support your healing in this process. I can help you find the right ones from the hundreds that are available, and make sure you get the quality and dosage of supplement that will actually work for you.

Sleep It Off
Want to look and feel younger, lose weight, have more energy, improve your immune system and your heart health? Get at least 8 hours of sleep a night! It’s a myth that you need less sleep as you age. Sleep is the precious time when our body does repair and rebuilding. It’s also the time we stop producing cortisol, so sleep contributes to hormonal balance as well.

Turn Yourself Upside Down
Hot flashes? Night sweats? One of the best things you can do is inversions. There are many reasons to do yoga during these years, but headstands and shoulder stands are truly stellar. Start with 10 breaths, and work up to a count of 100. Don’t do these without warming up first, and if you’ve never done them, you’ll want to find an experienced yoga instructor to help you. In the meantime, you can lie on the floor with your legs vertical, against a wall, and small pillow under your lower back.

Find Your Still Point
Mind-body techniques such as visualization and meditation help us find the calm in the center of the storm. Meditation doesn’t have to mean sitting in unmoving full lotus for an hour, nor does it mean not having any thoughts. There are many forms of meditation and you are bound to find one that suits you if you shop around. Many places, including my office, offer free classes, so compare styles and formats. And you can take a mini-vacation any time by simply taking a few deep breaths while thinking of something pleasurable, somewhere beautiful, or someone you love. To hear two examples of meditation that I teach and practice, click here. To find the next meditation class I am teaching, see the Events Calendar to the right.

Exercise Smarter, Not Harder
As we age, extended cardio is less effective for losing weight and maintaining health. You can lose more fat, support hormonal balance and increase energy by doing exercise “bursts.” Go all out for one minute and then let your heart rate return to normal. Repeat 3-8 times, 3 times a week, and you will produce more human growth hormone and testosterone, keys to lean muscle, and helpful for improved energy and libido. To get the best results in less than 20 minutes a week, and burst with no impact to your joints, I recommend the Xiser.

Make a Commitment to Yourself
Your forties, fifties and beyond can be a time of vibrant physical health, healthy sexuality and sensuality, and pleasure and delight in a full and active life. It all begins with making decisions that support you in thriving in your own wonderful life, and following through with them day by day. Ready to start now? Let me help you with an individualized program to heal your metabolism and rebalance your hormones. You don’t even know how much better you can feel!

Are you concerned about Alzheimer’s or other forms of dementia?  Few of us aren’t, especially as we witness the degeneration of older friends and family members.  But did you know that much of that outcome can be significantly influenced by your lifestyle choices now?  Here are six steps you can take to keep your brain, and your mind, healthy over the coming years.

1. Undetected gluten sensitivity has been associated with dementia and early onset Alzheimer’s.  If you are gluten sensitive, it is crucial to eliminate gluten completely from your diet. If you are not sure, but have family members with Alzheimer’s or dementia, diabetes, colon cancer or chronic GI issues, I can help you ascertain whether or not you are gluten sensitive.  If you are, taking steps to eliminate gluten from your diet will change your life and your health dramatically, both now and for your future.
2. Include healthy fats in your diet at every meal.  Fish oil has gotten a lot of press, and has been shown to decrease incidence of dementia.  My favorite forms are XanthOmega Krill, OmegAvail and smaller fish such as sardines, mackerel, and herring, which are high in Omega 3s and very clean, due to their short life span.  However, coconut oil and other plant oils such as black currant and evening primrose, may also be neuro-protective.  Foods that have healthy fat include avocados, nuts, and seeds (chia seeds are one of my favorites. See my article on SuperFoods for more info on these little nutrient dense powerhouses.)
3. Brain Exercise: keep using your brain in new and different ways. You can strengthen your brain and your whole nervous system by learning new things spatially, kinesthetically, even musically.  Word games and number games are great, but also try a class or dvd with a different kind of movement, choreography or balancing challenge.  Brush your teeth on one leg.  Learn a new dance step, a new instrument, or a new language.
4. Body Exercise:  Using your body keeps your blood circulating to your brain as well. Yoga balance postures and inversions are particularly helpful (I never miss an opportunity to promote the infinite benefits of yoga!).  Do burst training (short high intensity intervals). And then move for pure pleasure: take a walk outside or put on some music and dance.
5. Many studies have shown that social interaction keeps the brain healthy and functional longer.  Call a friend; go to a meeting; get out and see people face to face.
6. Hydration The brain is 75% water, and even small drops in hydration can effect its function.

One more supplement I love for brain health is Brain Vitale.  Brain Vitale is a combination of two powerful and beneficial brain nutrients: Phosphatidyl serine and Acetyl-L-Carnitine. These two nutrients have been extensively researched for their ability to enhance memory, relieve depression, improve mental acuity, promote recovery from stroke and nerve injury, and slow the progression of Alzheimer’s disease. Brain Vitale is one of the most dramatically useful brain formulas, particularly for promoting mental alertness.

Want help customizing a program and following through? I’d be delighted to put my mind to it!

Originally published in The Times Herald Record September 15, 2010

In Part 1 of my series on misconceptions about weight loss, I discussed three common mistakes people make: following fads; eating what is theoretically healthy, rather than what is healthy for them as a unique individual; and being a slave to the scale.

Here are three more common weight-loss pitfalls.

Mistake 1: Stop eating carbs
The first thing most people do when they go on a diet is cut carbs. But what happens when you eliminate carbs? You feel cranky, hungry and deprived, which sets you up to boomerang right out of your good intentions. Not only that, but also low/no carbs gets you off-track hormonally and metabolically.

You need to eat carbs — every time you eat. What you don’t need is carbs in the form of processed and refined foods, junk foods, sugars and alcohol. Complex carbs from “real foods,” such as vegetables and fruits, should be included in every meal and snack — that is, every time you eat. Add protein and healthy fat for perfect metabolic balance.

Mistake 2: Count calories
Does anyone really believe that 1,120 calories from a Vanilla Kreme Filled Doughnut and a large Coffee Coolatta have the same effect as two scrambled eggs, oatmeal with butter, tea with honey plus 4 ounces of chicken, a sweet potato, a serving of broccoli — and I’ll have to throw in a 450-calorie slice of apple pie to bring all that up into the same calorie ballpark? Don’t you think those might differ in terms of the quality of fuel you give your body and brain? Do you think you might be hungrier again, soon after having the doughnut and coffee, and need another big sweet boost? Do you think they might have different impacts on your focus? Your energy level? Your metabolism? Your appetite? Not to mention your long-term health?

Allowing yourself to eat whatever you want within a certain calorie limit does not work. Weight loss is 80 percent what you eat, but it’s the kind and quality of the food, not just the number of calories.

Mistake 3: Do lots of cardio
This may work in your 20s, but it definitely doesn’t work once we get past the prime reproductive years. Cardio breaks your body down and puts it in a stress state: Biologically, we can’t distinguish between running on a treadmill and running from a saber- toothed tiger.

The best way to exercise is high-intensity interval training: short all-out bursts of no more than a minute. Why? Because when we do that, we cue our body to produce human growth hormone and testosterone, and those are “building” hormones, vs. cortisol, which is a “breaking down” hormone. Think sprint, not marathon.

As for walking, I’m all for it. Do it to get some sunshine, exercise the dog, say hi to your neighbors and get yourself moving, but don’t expect to lose much weight or body fat that way.

Tip #1: Don’t Skip Food Groups!

Any plan that has you eliminating or drastically minimizing any macronutrient — protein, carbs or fat — is not only not going to work in the long run but also is unhealthy!

The key is learning to balance: Strive for a balance of lean protein, a little healthy fat, and carbs from “real food” (rather than processed or packaged food) each time you have a meal or a snack.

Never eat carbs alone or protein alone.

Tip #2: Balance Exercise, Too

Although I have helped many clients lose fat and gain muscle simply from nutritional changes, exercise is essential to maintain health as we age.

You don’t need hours in the gym, but you need to find activities that work your body hard, that you enjoy and that you will do consistently. An ideal combination would mix interval training, some balance and flexibility (such as yoga or Pilates) and some strength training, either with your own body weight (such as push-ups) or dumbbells.

Tip #3: It’s Not A Bank Account

t simply doesn’t work to “overspend” then “budget” when it comes to food.  That only damages your metabolism, slowing it further, and signaling your body to become ever more efficient at storing fat.  That’s exactly the opposite of what you want.

A meal is correctly balanced for you when you are not hungry again for 4-6 hours, with no cravings.  If you can do that consistently, your metabolism will begin to improve.

This article was originally published as Fran’s Holistic Outlook column in The Times Herald Record on January 21, 2010.

If you’re spending long days hunched over a desk or computer, you’re not alone. Here are seven ways to integrate healthier habits into a tough work day.

1. Mom was right.

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, just as our mothers told us. Eat a healthy one before you start work, ideally within one hour of waking. This fuels your body and brain for a healthier metabolism and stable blood sugar, which means steadier focus and less fatigue. Plus, eating a balanced breakfast sets you up to have fewer cravings and eat less the rest of the day.
But lose the cereal! Many people consider cereal a healthy breakfast, probably thanks to decades of advertising, but it is not. It is essentially a large dose of refined carbohydrates, and milk only compounds the problem. (The endocrinologist I trained with used milk, rather than orange juice, to quickly raise diabetics’ blood sugar when they were low.)

A balanced meal is a combination of proteins, carbs and a little healthy fat, and should keep you satisfied and focused for about 4-6 hours.

2. Trade java for green tea.

When blood sugar drops and the midmorning (or afternoon) blahs set in, many of us reach for coffee, often laden with corn syrup-based flavors, sugar or artificial sweeteners.

Instead, trade your coffee for green tea. Green tea has caffeine, although less than coffee, but it is metabolized more slowly and gently. That means you won’t have the initial jolt to your blood sugar, or the drop after. (That’s a good thing!) And you will get a nice dose of beneficial nutrients, including antioxidants and polyphenols.

Researchers have found that two to three cups of green tea a day can have potent immune-boosting benefits. While coffee takes a toll on skin, green tea is showing promise as protection against aging from UV radiation.

3. Dump the sweeteners.

Sugar?  High fructose corn syrup (what do you THINK is in your flavored lattes?) Splenda, NutraSweet or Sweet n Low: whether you’re having them in your coffee, tea, soda or snacks, they are draining your energy and your health.

Trade them in for xylitol or stevia, natural sweeteners with no or few calories. Xylitol is actually good for you, and it tastes and looks just like sugar. Trade sodas — diet or regular — for water or club soda. If you are used to highly sweetened beverages, give your palate time to adapt; it will.

4. Pack a snack.

Just say no to the doughnuts, cookies, candies and other junk food that tends to show up anywhere people congregate. Instead, buy some small reusable containers or snack bags, and pack them with nuts. A portion is a small handful, or about two dozen almonds, for instance. It’s perfect: a little protein, some carbs and some healthy fat. Avoid trail mixes if you’re watching your weight: dried fruit is loaded with sugars. Add one of our wonderful local apples. Come prepared, and you will be so much less likely to give in to temptation.

5. Master the stairs.

Does your office have stairs? Can you take a three-minute break? One of the best forms of exercise is burst training. (Of course, check first with your health-care professional before beginning any exercise program.)

Run up the stairs as fast as you can for no more than 60 seconds. If you can’t do a full minute at first, do 20 seconds, wait 20 seconds, then sprint for 20 seconds again, and work yourself up to a full minute. Don’t do more than a minute at a time; it’s actually less effective. Alternative: Many of my clients keep an X-iser portable stepper machine under their desk. It’s small, makes no noise, won’t make you sweaty and many people can share one (some NFL, NBA and MLB teams do).

6. Change your focus.

Eyes are muscles, too, and keeping the same focal length for hours strains them, as well as your neck and shoulders. Take a break at least once an hour to look farther away, ideally, at some of our beautiful Hudson Valley scenery.

7. S-t-r-e-t-c-h!

Here’s a good one. Stand up. Interlace your fingers, then turn your palms away and stretch your arms in front of you, stretching your shoulders and back. Keeping the same hold, cup the base of your skull with your palms, and press your elbows backwards, opening your chest. Now clasp your hands behind you, and bend forward at the hips, bringing your head toward your knees. Bring your arms up gently, as far as you can. Hold for a few deep breaths, bringing fresh oxygenated blood to your brain.

OK, time to go back to work now! I hope you feel restored, rejuvenated and ready to continue your day.

printed in The Times Herald Record October 7. 2009

Why do so many women struggle with weight loss?  Our crazy culture puts so much value on being thin, and yet we keep getting fatter, with almost two thirds of women now overweight.  As obesity increases, so do a multitude of other health problems, from sleep and digestive issues to heart disease and cancer.

Too often women set a short term goal of losing weight, rather than a long term goal of improving health.  Yet losing weight is an inevitable result of getting healthy.  You will lose weight by getting healthy. You won’t get healthy by losing weight.

If you are tired of dieting, tired of feeling sick and tired, and on the verge of despair, take hope.  It is not your fault, and it is not a “normal part of aging” either.  It is possible to heal your metabolism, lose body fat, eliminate food cravings completely, and even reverse many chronic symptoms.

• Forget the old calories-in calories out model.  It doesn’t work, as experience has probably already shown you.  It may seem effective initially, but as our metabolism adapts to less food, we have to cut more calories and work out longer even to maintain our weight, while at the same time we feel increasingly stressed, irritable and deprived.  Metabolism is complex: it’s more like a chemistry lab than a bank ledger!

• Identify and eliminate hidden food sensitivities. This is essential!  Eating foods your body can’t tolerate causes systemic inflammation and excess cortisol, which tells your body to store fat, particularly around the belly.

• Lose your fear of fats. Studies show people lose weight by incorporating healthy fat into their diets.  Small amounts are essential to every process in your body.  Fat also helps you feel full longer.  Healthy sources include raw nuts and seeds (not peanuts), avocados, olive oil, chia, plus small amounts of butter from grass fed cows, and coconut milk or oil.

• Choose carbs wisely.  How you choose your carbs is key to getting healthy and losing weight. First, try to get most of your carbs from “real foods” rather than processed foods.  Then look at carbs as either starchy or non-starchy.  A little bit of starchy carbs every time you eat will help heal your metabolism, and provide needed fiber and nutrients. Examples are sweet potatoes, squash, cooked carrots, beets, peas, beans and most fruits.  Then load your plate with non-starchy carbs like greens, cukes, zukes, broccoli, etc.  They are alkalinizing, high in fiber, nutrient-dense, and slow stomach emptying time so you feel full longer.

• Get 8 hours of sleep. This may not seem like a weight loss strategy, but it’s an essential one.  Adequate, good quality sleep lowers stress hormones like cortisol, improves insulin sensitivity, and hormonally decreases your appetite.  When we are tired, we make poor decisions and fuel ourselves with caffeine and junk food.  I have seen many women break a weight plateau simply by increasing the number of hours they sleep.

• Don’t graze! If you eat every 2-3 hours, you’ll never have to burn fat!  Work towards balancing your meals so that you are eating every 4-6 hours. This raises your basal metabolic rate (the number of calories you burn at rest in 24 hours) and helps heal your metabolism.

• Try high intensity interval training (HIIT). Research proves short bursts of high intensity exercise are more effective than longer bouts of steady state exercise.  HIIT boosts human growth hormone, revs up your metabolism, and aids muscle mass. It also helps stabilize the hormone leptin, which controls appetite.  Go all out for 30-60 seconds and then rest for twice as long as your burst.  Do this 3-6 times a day, 3 times a week and you will be amazed at the results.  You can do HIIT without any special equipment by jumping rope, doing jumping jacks or sprinting.

Imagine waking each day feeling healthy, energized and confident.  Unflagging energy, sharpened mental focus and freedom from many of the symptoms of aging are possible, in fact quite natural, when you commit to getting healthy.  And it just happens to be the most effective way to lose weight!

© Fran Sussman 2009

Short Burst Exercise
Are you too busy or too tired to exercise regularly? Have you exercised and found it didn’t make a difference? Do you feel like you need to do increasingly more exercise to stay in shape?

You are not alone, and it is not your fault.

Here’s an important news flash: more and longer cardio does not work! It can even make you fatter.

High intensity exercise of short duration is better for cardiovascular fitness, fat burning, and hormone response than low intensity continuous exercise. What that means is that working out REALLY INTENSELY for just a few minutes, to metabolic and muscle failure, is more effective than working out an hour a day. This is “burst training” and the research is impressive on its effectiveness. And as someone who has gone from exercising an hour or more a day in the past, to an hour a week, and lost fat, weight and multiple dress sizes doing so, I am happy to share my experience and enthusiasm as well as the research. Many of my clients have had the same significant results, even without dramatic dietary changes or other exercise.

(If you’re ready to start doing Burst Training, go right to the link for the Xiser here. It’s a unique portable stepper, and the absolute best, most efficient way to do high intensity interval training. You can use it just 4 minutes a day, 3x a week, and burn more fat immediately, and really rev your metabolism for continuous and increasing fat burning over time.)

When we exercise for long periods of time, our body perceives it as stress, and we are flooded with cortisol. Cortisol is a “breaking-down” hormone that contributes to aging, and tells the body to store fat. The longer we exercise, the greater the catabolic, or breaking-down effect—this is not good! But here’s the good news: when we do short bursts of high intensity training, our body produces a tiny bit of cortisol but it also produces human growth hormone and testosterone, a perfect hormonal cocktail that has a favorable effect on our metabolism. In fact, a mere 60 seconds is an optimal time to exercise at high intensity. Yup, just one minute maximizes calorie burning, beta-endorphin levels, HGH, and several other markers of fat burning and muscle building. Furthermore, when we exercise like this— anaerobically—we also increase our aerobic capacity and our oxygen capacity (V02). The reverse is not true. In other words, increasing our aerobic capacity does not increase our anaerobic or VO2 capacity.

5 MORE Reasons to Burst:

1. The loss of muscle mass associated with aging is primarily associated with Type II muscle fiber, and only high intensity exercise utilizes it significantly.

2. Immune system function is improved by bursting, but decreased by long-duration exercise.

3. HDL, the good kind of cholesterol, shows much better improvement with bursting compared to long duration exercise, as do blood pressure and waist circumference, significant indicators of cardiovascular health.

4. In Menopause, our ability to increase human growth hormone and testosterone is blunted. So if you are in peri-menopause or menopause, short burst high intensity exercise is perfect for you. It can boost libido, help build lean muscle and get rid of the fat that just seems to keep adding on incrementally. In fact, burst training is anti-aging for both men and women, and can be done safely and effectively at any age, regardless of condition or exercise experience.

5. Short burst exercise actually retrains our bodies to recover from the biochemical effects of chronic stress, as long as we train at our highest intensity, and allow ourselves to rest in-between bursts. Rest can be a few minutes, a few hours, or a couple of days, but it is critical to give the body the opportunity to recover and rebuild. Doing this teaches the nervous system how to adapt to stress in the way we were meant to, because it’s exercise in a form that is more natural to us. We wouldn’t likely be running from a saber tooth tiger for an hour, would we? We’d either be dinner, or we’d be safe. Short bursts are the way our bodies were designed to work, and when we work with nature, the benefits are significant.

Bursts are so easy to incorporate into your daily routine, and you will find the results very gratifying very quickly. Order the Xiser here. 

BONUS: Purchase through my site and you will receive two DVDs (one instructional, and one to work out with) valued at $29.95, and free shipping.

From Fran’s column, Holistic Outlook, in The Times Herald Record.

Is it true that, for women, aging means gaining weight, lost libido, thinning hair and increasing aches, pains and physical woes? Absolutely not! This can be a wonderful time of life, if women learn to take care of themselves as well as they’ve taken care of everyone else in the decades before.

These are the years when lifestyle choices really pay off — the great ones and the not-so-good ones. It’s time to make the changes that determine the quality of your life for the decades ahead. Don’t accept conventional wisdom about what can and can’t heal. Much more is possible than you think.
Related Stories

“I can’t lose weight!”
Women at this age often complain that they don’t eat much but gain weight anyhow, and losing weight seems impossible. If that’s your experience, you probably have a damaged metabolism. One key is identifying hidden food sensitivities. You can become a more efficient fat-burner if you remember that we don’t get healthy by losing weight — we lose weight by getting healthy.

“My hormones are out of whack!”
Somewhere in their 40s or 50s, women experience hormonal changes signaling the end of the reproductive years. These are responsible for many symptoms we associate with aging, including dryness, loss of flexibility, aching joints, thinning hair and plummeting libido.

Instead of trying to replace estrogen directly, it’s better to lower cortisol, which is always in inverse relationship to estrogen. Cortisol is produced by the adrenal glands in response to stress. Since stress hormones take precedence over other hormones, calming and reproductive hormones drop. Lowering cortisol helps bring your hormones back into alignment. You can do that by: getting more sleep, reducing caffeine, practicing stress management and taking targeted supplements.

Sleep it off
Want to look and feel younger, lose weight, have more energy, improve both your immune system and your heart health? Get eight hours of sleep a night! It’s myth that you need less sleep as you age. Sleep is when our body does repair and rebuilding. It’s also the time we stop producing cortisol, so sleep contributes to hormonal balance as well.

Turn yourself upside down
Hot flashes? Night sweats? Do inversions. There are many reasons to do yoga during these years, but headstands and shoulder stands are truly stellar. If you’ve never done inversions, work first with a qualified yoga instructor.

On your own, you can simply lie on the floor with your legs vertical, against a wall, and a small pillow under your lower back. Slowly work up to holding the pose for 100 breaths.

Always seek the advice of a qualified health-care professional before undertaking any physical, dietary or lifestyle changes.

Find your still point
Visualization and meditation help us find the calm in the center of the storm. Meditation doesn’t have to mean sitting unmoving in full lotus for an hour, nor does it mean not having thoughts. There are many different forms. You can take a minivacation any time by simply taking a few deep breaths while thinking of something pleasurable, somewhere beautiful or someone you love.

Exercise smarter, not harder
As we age, extended cardio is less effective for losing weight or maintaining health. Do “bursts” to lose fat, support hormonal balance and increase energy. Go all-out for one minute and then let your heart rate return to normal. Repeat four to six times a day, three times a week, to increase human growth hormone and testosterone — keys to lean muscle and helpful for improved energy and libido.

Make a commitment to yourself

Your 40s, 50s and beyond can be a time of vibrant physical health, healthy sexuality and sensuality, and pleasure and delight in a full and active life. It all begins with making decisions that support you in thriving in your own wonderful life, and following through with them day by day.