5 Point Plan To Lean, Strong and Fearless For Life

If you had to run from one end of an airport to another to catch a plane while wearing heels and carrying your bags, could you physically do it? Do you have enough "body dollars" in your "bank" to do it?

Some random facts:

• On average, 1/3 of the people on any given flight cannot fit through the emergency door.
• For mortality/morbidity calculations for safety reasons, the FAA assumes women to be 150 pounds and men to be 170
• Icelandic Airways has actual interviews for people who want an exit-row seat. They want to make sure that they're putting the fittest people there. Who's sitting in your exit row? Chances are it's somebody who needs the extra room, not the fittest person on the plane (who would presumably be the most helpful in an emergency)
• Receptors for neurotransmitters are now believed to be found all over the body, not just in the brain. This makes the mind and body one entity.
• Mice that were physically active actually created baby brain cells - neurogenesis. This has been replicated in human studies (from what little I know it has. Search for neurogenesis and exercise).
• When women/secretaries first got computers, they gained 15 pounds per year. This was due to the lack of walking around to find people, filing, bending over, lifting heavy documents. etc.

The 5 Point Plan

Mind

Women are hard-wired to scan around rooms and be alert at all times (example: even if you've never had a child, your body reacts when you hear a child crying). We ruminate a lot on what others think - when walking into a gym, do you look around to see if you're the fattest one there? If you're the best dressed? Lifting the most? Running the fastest? If you said no, I know you're lying =)

Women's brains secrete less serotonin than men so we go for foods that will raise it - chocolate, starch, fat, salt, and sugar. You have to be aware of this.

Our stress hormones actually decrease when we're in a food coma. That's why it feels so good.

Mouth

Eat 5 colors a day (and no, eating Skittles doesn't count!) - 5 colors of vegetables. The deeper the color is, the more anti-oxidants it has.

Eat every 3-4 hours (about 500 calories each) with small meals in between (100-200 calories each). If you wait until you're really hungry you're going to overeat because you'll eat fast and not realize you're full. It takes about 20 minutes for your stomach to tell your brain that you're full. Think about that. Most people's meals don't even last that long!

Muscle

Physical activity is non-negotiable. Most of us sit on our asses 8 hours a day, we're not from the hay-lifting generation anymore. It's not a part of our lives.

If you're not lifting weights, start. No excuses.

Breast cancer, heart disease, diabetes all take 15 years to develop. Prevention starts NOW.

Money

As sad as it is, you need money to be fit. Healthy food costs more than junk food. (See previous post.) Sneakers cost money. Gym membership costs money. Get your money in order!

Macrocosm

You can't take care of yourself if your life isn't set. You need to be organized (at least mentally organized, if not physically). You need to go food shopping once a week and not just on demand so you buy junk food. Put all your gym stuff in one area so it's easy to get to. Less clutter, be it mental or physical, is less stress.