Here is another. Besides diabetes, heart disease, and some cancers, too low or too high of blood sugar really messes with your hormone system. It is a major player in menstrual cycle abnormalities, adrenal exhaustion, thyroid problems, and male hormonal issues where estrogens elevate and testosterone declines. This can look like men with low drive and ambition with a reduced ability to gain muscle mass and a lack of desire to perform in the boardroom or bedroom and women with major mood problems who grow hair on their face, and can’t lose weight.

Got your attention yet?

Good, because the answers are not in the pharmaceutical field although many doctors think that it is. The answers lie in figuring out why your blood sugar is not balanced, not in what drugs forces your body to adapt to an imbalanced blood sugar state.

So, why is a persons blood sugar imbalanced, outside of a genetic reason?

The biggest reason is what people put into their mouth. How they eat. People are told that to be healthy, they must “eat right”. What the heck does that mean? The details in eating are part of the answer to balanced blood sugar.

People are not told to avoid the fast acting carbohydrate foods that cause immense blood sugar elevations and crashes. This should be apparent but for many people it is not.

People are not taught to eat protein at every meal. They should be. Protein sparks a hormone opposite insulin called glucagon and it tends to balance the insulin surges caused by eating too many fast acting carbs. Thus, less damage is done to your body.

So, how much protein and how much carbs?

Great question!

Generally strive to eat an equal volume of each at any one sitting(unless you eat on the go!)
That was a lame attempt at humor.

Seriously, if you eat a baked potatoe(a fast acting carb) you should not eat more of that than the steak you eat with it. Or, do not eat any more af the hashbrowns you have with your eggs

You do not have to measure these food portions, just eyeball it in terms of volume.

If you follow this rule, you will have generally avoided one of the major reasons for blood sugar imbalance in America today and the potential disasterous consequences.

There are 3 main issues and all of them are important. All 3 issues play into each other.

At the top, of course, is education.People are not educated as to what practices allow for a healthy body. Everyone says exercise and eat right but what does that mean? There are too many variables in exercise and in diet that make that statement useless. In the absence of education, people do what feels good to them and are easily manipulated by interests that are financial not health oriented. There is an appalling lack of responsibility on the part of the average American. There is a mind set of living how ever a person wants and then laying it at the feet of the medical doctor to “fix” it when they have symptoms.

The medical industry is the second issue. It completely plays into the ignorance of the typical American by dispensing drugs as a primary therapy instead of education and advice. Dominated by the pharmaceutical industry and the insurance industry, it is easy to see how doctor’s mindset about health does not serve the populace as well as it could. The current health care model, as anyone who has been in it recently can attest, is one symptom: one drug and 20 minutes with the doctor if you are lucky. There is simply not enough time spent with patients to educate and to investigate. This is because the managed care system is based on saving money. Therefore, a maximum number of patients are seen and a minimum number of diagnostic tests are performed all in the name of cost savings. If one HMO doc sees 1000 patients and orders 20,00 dollars of tests and another doc sees 1,000 patients and orders 4,000 dollars of tests, can you guess which doc will be let go?

The last and third issue has to do with food in America. Because we live in a capitalistic society, there is always a financial incentive to cut corners to make a buck. Do you really want the manufacturers of food cutting corners with substances you put in your mouth? For that matter, do you want food manufacturers?  Food should be real and live, not packaged and dead.

Americans ate 68 Billion dollars worth of packaged snack food in 2008, up from 60 Billion dollars in 2004. Packaged food is rarely compatible with optimum health. The main reasons for this mind boggling statistic is that Advertisers appeal to the public based on image and taste and have a vested interest in Americans being ignorant about the preservatives, colorings and chemicals that masquerade as food. As long is there is a buck to be made with cheap inferior product ingredients and as long as the public does not cry out for better quality, the free market system in America will deliver more of the same garbage that Americans will consume, much to their detriment.

So, as you can easily see, the healthcare paradigm in America is severely flawed and the primary elements needing change are education about what constitutes health,what constitutes real, healthy  food and the medical/pharmaceutical system. All have their part and are interrelated to one another.

This is a question many people should ask, because the symptoms
of low thyroid are so common today. Read on to learn about the symptoms and what you can do about it.

The thyroid gland is a butterfly shaped gland in your neck. It controls your rate of metabolism and has powerful effects in the functioning of your body. The effects of a low thyroid are felt in almost every part of your body because every cell in your body has a receptor on it’s cell membrane for the thyroid hormones.

So, everything you can think of that your body does, has a thyroid involvement.

The symptoms of low thyroid function, then, can be wide spread. The two most common symptoms are fatigue and depression. Since these are pretty general symptoms, low thyroid is often misdiagnosed as a female hormonal problem or a neurotransmitter serotonin problem.

The other symptoms that are classic for low thyroid are: loss of hair, hair thinning, dry rough skin, intolerance to cold, feeling abnormally cold, constipation, morning headaches, lack of motivation, low libido, and brain fog. Not much fun.

The most common way to confirm the diagnosis of low thyroid or hypothyroid as it is called in the medical community, is an elevated TSH. TSH stands for thyroid stimulating hormone and is a hormone that is sent out from the brain to the thyroid to tell it to make thyroid hormones. So, if your thyroid is not working the way it should, and the amount of thyroid hormones being pumped out is low, the brain will increase the message to the thyroid gland and it will manifest as a high TSH.

How high? Well, the standard lab ranges are .5-4.5, but I consider anything above 3 to be suspicious. I actually saw a person with hardly any symptoms have a TSH of 128! So you can not always determine the severity of the hypothyroid by the symptoms.

The first step is diagnosis, the second step treatment. For most people, going to a doctor with the above symptoms will result in a blood test and a confirmation of low thyroid output. Because doctors are trained in a certain way, the treatment is almost certainly going to be…. thyroid hormone replacement. That is to say, if a hormone is low, add more hormone to the body. While this can help alleviate symptoms, it often overlooks the reason the hormones are low in the first place.

It is extremely useful to find a health care practitioner that is experienced in managing thyroid disorders. A person that can encourage the thyroid to make the thyroid hormones rather than just replace them. However, some times the low thyroid state has gone on so long, the thyroid is incapable of producing more hormones because so much thyroid tissue is lost.
Hormone replacement in this case makes a lot of sense.

Regardless of the therapy used to prove that the TSH- Thyroid-Brain hormone loop is normalized, it is important to realize that there are many other global effects of having a low thyroid.

One of the most important questions is:“ how long after the appearance of symptoms did you get treated for a low thyroid? “ The longer that period of time, the more degeneration has occurred and the more body systems you need to support.

I talked with a woman this afternoon who told me that 15 years had elapsed before she got diagnosed and treated for low thyroid. Yikes!

The most important issue is to seek help if you have the symptoms I listed above and get the proper diagnosis. Treatment can range from thyroid hormone replacement(synthetic and natural), to iodine and selenium supplementation, thyroid glandular tissue supplement, homeopathic treatments or quieting down an overzealous immune system.

All have their place depending on the person, their symptoms and their lab tests.

The Great Myths of Blood Sugar Control

1. Conventional wisdom says if you’re not having
symptoms, your blood sugar control problems are not such
a big deal, they’re wrong! If you do not have symptoms now here is a sampling:
Foggy thinking, memory lapses, low energy levels, cravings for sugar,
kidney problems and high blood pressure and cholesterol
levels are just a few of the symptoms you might not be
attributing to unbalanced blood sugar… but should be.

2. Conventional wisdom says low-fat dieting can control your
blood sugar. Wrong again!
Fat is not the cause of America’s epidemic of insulin
resistance, sugar and excess carbs are and most people are in the dark about
it. The average American consumes roughly 32 teaspoons
of sugar each day, much of it hidden in the processed foods
we eat. Ingesting too much sugar is acid-forming and wreaks
havoc on your health leading to unbalanced blood sugar.

3. Conventional wisdom says natural solutions won’t work
for blood sugar. Wrong, dead wrong!
The pharmaceutical companies have plenty of drugs to help
you deal with blood sugar imbalances. The trouble is… the
side effects of some of these drugs can be WORSE than the
disease they’re supposed to treat!
For example, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
recently mandated the use of a “black box” warning on the
diabetes drug Avandia.
This strong warning label emphasizes the drug, “may cause
or worsen heart failure in certain patients.”
Despite this disturbing admission, an agency advisory panel
voted 22 to 1 in favor of allowing continued sales to U.S. patients!
But here’s some good news. You can balance your blood
sugar naturally, simply by using nutrients straight from Mother
Nature.

Nutrients for Healthy Blood Sugar
It might seem hard to imagine that a few herbs can help you
win the battle of blood sugar imbalance–but it’s TRUE!
Let’s examine each of these super nutrients individually…
Gymnema Sylvestre
For more than 2,000 years, people in India have used the
herb Gymnema sylvestre to help control blood sugar. In fact,
the leaves of this climbing plant are highly valued by practitioners of
Ayurvedic medicine–the ancient system of healing developed
in India and practiced by the renowned doctor Deepak Chopra.
The herb is also called “gurmar,” which literally means “destroyer
of sugar” in Hindi. This name describes the way that chewing the
leaves interferes with your ability to taste sweetness. Because
this amazing herb decreases the sensation of sweetness in many
foods, this may reduce your cravings for sugary snacks. In addition, this versatile herb improves insulin receptor sensitivity.

Chromium
Another weapon in nature’s arsenal of sugar fighters is the
mineral chromium. Chromium aids in digestion and helps
move blood glucose from the bloodstream into the cells for
energy. It also helps turn fats, carbohydrates, and proteins
into energy.
What’s more, chromium is critical for healthy insulin function.
Without enough chromium in your body, insulin just doesn’t
work properly.
Chromium exists in many foods, but research shows that 90%
of American adults have a chromium deficient diet! This could
be a key reason why an increasing number of Americans suffer
blood sugar problems.

Banaba Leaf Extract
Traditionally, people living in the Philippines, South Asia, and
India have brewed a banaba leaf tea to help regulate blood sugar.
Medical scientists believe that banaba leaf’s beneficial effects
on blood sugar are due to its high concentration of corosolic
acid, a natural compound extracted from its leaves.
Corosolic acid mimics insulin by moving sugar out of your
bloodstream and into your cells. And numerous scientific
studies have proven banaba leaf’s effectiveness.

Fenugreek
Modern science is shedding new light on another traditional
folk remedy which delivers excellent health benefits.
Fenugreek is an herb native to the Mediterranean, Ukraine,
India, and China.
Practitioners of Ayurvedic and traditional Chinese medicine
have used the herb for more than 2,000 years. Modern
scientists now know fenugreek helps balance your
cholesterol, triglycerides, and blood glucose.
Fenugreek seed stimulates insulin release. This helps food
sugars reach your cells properly.

BitterMelon
Although it may be unknown to most people in the West–bitter
melon has long been used in South America, the Caribbean,
East Africa, and the Orient as both food and a natural medicine.
And scientific studies prove its value for treating blood sugar
problems.
Studies have show bitter melon could play a key role in
helping to balance insulin in your body and had positive effects
on the serum glucose levels of those taking it–which of course
means healthy blood sugar control.
So if you’ve resigned yourself to a life filled by downing daily
prescription medications, jabbing yourself with insulin, and
praying that you don’t succumb to kidney failure, loss of vision or extremities,

I want to introduce you to these natural compounds that represent a breakthrough for balancing your blood sugar.

Imagine avoiding the dangers of pharmaceutical agents while you:
● Balance your blood sugar
● Control insulin and help your body use it more effectively
● Keep your cholesterol healthy
● Boost your immunity
● Support healthy weight loss
● Eliminate sugar spikes
● Protect your kidneys
● Banish tired, sluggish feelings
● Reduce sugar and food cravings
● Plus, dozens more benefits!

All these powerful nutrients are great for blood sugar control but it does not give you a license to eat sweets regularly or to go long periods of time without eating. Both of these practices will imbalance your blood sugar leading to multiple health problems, not the least of these is diabetes. There is a huge laundry list of diseases and health problems that have blood sugar imbalances as their underpinnings.
So, look to balance your carbs with proteins and take a supplement that has bitter melon,chromium, gymnema and fenugreek. Your body will thank you by performing better in your daily life.

A pre-diabetic condition known as insulin resistance syndrome can be prevented by exercise. Insulin resistance is the mechanism that creates type 2 diabetes and the metabolic syndrome. Type 1 diabetes is often called juvenile diabetes or insulin-dependent diabetes is a situation where the pancreas does not produce insulin. Type 2 diabetes is caused by insulin resistance. Eating sugar and starch forces the body to produce a lot of insulin, over time, the body stops responding to the insulin creating insulin resistance.

Insulin resistance is also responsible for something called the metabolic syndrome, also known as syndrome x. In the metabolic syndrome, the individual tends to have high cholesterol with low HDL (the “good” cholesterol) and low LDL (the “bad” cholesterol), and high triglycerides. One of the big problems caused by insulin resistance is obesity. People who are insulin resistant tend to be overweight (especially carrying weight around the abdomen) and may have high blood pressure.

Research appearing in the March 23, 2003 issue of Diabetes Care [26:557-562] followed 18 sedentary men and women for six months. Participants exercised between three and seven days each week by walking  for a half-hour.

At the end of the study, researchers examined insulin sensitivity and levels of blood fats, such as cholesterol. None of the subjects lost weight during the study period, but they did enjoy an increase in insulin sensitivity. The researchers concluded that exercise alone increased insulin sensitivity—even without weight loss. The researchers concluded that even moderate exercise, without weight loss or loss of abdominal fat, can improve indicators of glucose and fat metabolism and lower the risk for developing type-2 diabetes.

The most useful herbs and nutrients for help with insulin resistance are bitter melon vanadium, gymnema sylvestre,chromium and alpha lipoic acid. Please consult your health care professional for the right dosages of these products for your particular situation.

A high-fat , high carb diet can cause glucose intolerance and insulin resistance. Atherosclerosis, or plaque in the arteries, is the most common complication of diabetes. There is strong evidence from primary prevention studies in non-diabetics that reduction in LDL (bad cholesterol) level and elevation in HDL (good cholesterol) level each reduces the risk of coronary artery disease. It is essential that physicians pay attention to the control of blood fat disorders in their diabetic patients.

Studies of diabetes using high-fiber, high vegetable diets have indicated improvements in blood sugar control and blood lipid profile. Similar improvements have also been noted when foods were selected on the basis of their slow rates of digestion and flatter glycemic responses despite relatively small changes in fiber content. Simple carbohydrates like monosaccharides and disaccharides (monosaccharides and disaccharides are sugars) should be restricted.

High-fiber intake seems to be important. Studies have suggested that an increase in the intake of soluble dietary fiber can lead to decreases in plasma glucose and glycosuria(sugar in the urine) and a reduction in insulin requirements.

There are certain nutrients that can positively affect the person with diabetes. One of them is alpha lipoic acid. It has show in many studies to improve insulin receptors. Another is chromium. Still another is Gymnema, an Indian herb that has shown the ability to reduce insulin requirements and even regenerate pancreatic beta cells

Exercise can improve blood sugar balance in the person with NIDDM (non-insulin dependent diabetes meletus—or type 2 diabetes) and may lower insulin requirements in the individual with IDDM (insulin dedpendentdiabetes meletus—or type 1 diabetes). Exercise usually decreases plasma glucose levels when the diabetes is well controlled. In the poorly controlled diabetic with plasma glucose greater than 300 mg/dL, exercise may actually increase glucose levels.

Be aware of the fact that giving nutritional supplementation to a diabetic taking insulin or other hypoglycemic agent may undermine control. Sometimes the supplementation is actually effective in bringing down blood sugar and if the insulin dose doesn’t change, can create a hypoglycemic (low blood sugar) state. The low blood sugar triggers cortisol (an adrenal hormone) production, raising blood sugar. The result is a loss of control of blood sugar levels. To make sure the patient maintains control:

• Make gradual changes. Add one supplement at a time. Start with a low dose and gradually increase it.
• Make sure that you monitor blood sugar regularly.

Food allergy testing and avoidance of allergens may be of value in the diabetic patient.

HEALTH STRATEGIES

Insulin-Dependent Diabetes Mellitus (IDDM), commonly called “juvenile diabetes”  Priorities:

1. The patient must consume adequate calories to maintain desirable weight.

2. Meal times and the composition of the diet must be consistent from day to day, with the carbohydrate content fairly evenly divided from meal to meal.

3. Simple carbohydrates must be limited to 10% to 15% of total calories.

4. Depending upon the insulin regimen, a bedtime snack may help prevent nocturnal hypoglycemia; midmorning and midafternoonsnacks must be taken if needed, to match the food intake to the peak insulin action.

5. Food must be taken to correct hypoglycemic episodes.

6. Food and fluids must be taken for periods of increased physical activity and during illness.

7. Suggest modifications in the diet for hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and/or kidney problems if present.

8. If obese, the patient must follow a program to reduce weight (persons with IDDM are usually not obese).

Non–Insulin-Dependent Diabetes Mellitus (NIDDM): This is adult onset diabetes. Obesity and poor dietary habits can cause this. It is a situation where the individual produces insulin, but is becoming insensitive to their insulin. This type of diabetes can be controlled by diet, and the other factors that contribute to reduced insulin sensitivity like cortisol elevations.

General Advice for Hyperglycemia:

• Avoid refined sugar and refined carbohydrates.
• Avoid hydrogenated and partially hydrogenated oils.
• Finding and eliminating hidden food sensitivities is sometimes useful: Avoiding food that an individual may be sensitive to, like gluten grains and dairy, commonly makes blood sugar easier to control. Testing for and eliminating common allergens is controversial when dealing with diabetes, but is sometimes useful.
• Increase fiber from vegetables and legumes:Vegetables contain antioxidants and fiber helps improve blood sugar control.

Many things affect blood pressure, including neural, glandular, kidney and cardiovascular factors. High blood pressure can be caused by hardening of the arteries or kidney disease.

If the exact cause of high blood pressure cannot be determined, it is called “essential” hypertension. Often there are several factors contributing to the high blood pressure, making it impossible to find a single cause.

If there is no pathology, often high blood pressure can be improved without the use of drugs. The natural approach does not have the side-effects of the drugs. Even if the natural methods do not completely control the blood pressure, they can help reduce the amount of drugs necessary to do the job.

The Nervous System and Blood Pressure:

The autonomic nervous system is the part of the nervous system that automatically controls certain bodily functions like digestion, heart rate, blood vessel diameter and other functions that happen free of central nervous control. These are bodily functions that you don’t have to think about, they happen “autonomously”. You don’t tell your stomach to start producing acid after you eat; it is handled automatically by the autonomic nervous system.

The two divisions of the autonomic nervous system are the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems. These two divisions are opposites. They are analogous to the accelerator (sympathetic) and brakes (parasympathetic) on a car.

Branches of the nerves that make up the autonomic nervous system come from the spine. They are affected by spinal subluxations (vertebrae that are out of place) and fixations (vertebrae that do not move properly). Muscle tightness, spinal subluxations and fixations interfere with proper nervous system control. They are very effectively treated by many hands-on therapies. Treating the musculoskeletal system, actually affects the nervous system. Emotion also affects neurological control of the blood pressure. Stress has an effect on the autonomic nervous system. Read the report on the adrenal gland for more information about how stress affects the body.

Nutrition and Blood Pressure:

There are several nutritional factors that can affect blood pressure. The most common nutritional approach is sodium restriction, which isn’t always a good strategy.  Magnesium supplementation has been shown to help reduce high blood pressure in some cases.

Obesity is another important link to high blood pressure. If one weighs more than 15% more than his or her ideal weight, weight loss has been shown to help reduce high blood pressure.

One nutritional issue not commonly discussed with respect to high blood pressure is sugar. Eating refined sugar (and other refined carbohydrates) can lead to “Syndrome X”. Syndrome X is a condition described by Dr. Gerald Reaven. In short, stress and insulin resistance (caused by eating too much sugar and too many refined carbohydrates) can raise cholesterol and blood pressure. The cholesterol increase has a definite pattern. Triglycides and LDL (bad cholesterol) are too high and HDL (good cholesterol) is too low.  Sugar consumption can also adversely affect the adrenal glands and can contribute to high blood pressure.

Arteriosclerosis (loss of elasticity or “hardening” of the arteries) and athlerosclerosis (accumulation of plaque on the internal arterial wall) can cause high blood pressure. High cholesterol, a lack of antioxidant nutrients, consumption of trans fats and refined carbohydrates, smoking, alcohol consumption and stress can all contribute to this condition.

Proper treatment should include dietary and lifestyle changes (whether or not medication is being used to control the blood pressure. Your chiropractor trained in applied kinesiology is equipped to help you develop an effective nutritional program to address all of the issues associated with high blood pressure. Call for a consultation to explore this issue.

Low Blood Pressure

Unless the blood pressure is so low that the kidneys can’t operate, as it is in shock, low blood pressure is not as dangerous as high blood pressure. The main problem for people with low blood pressure is fatigue.

In general, people with low blood pressure do not feel very good. Sometimes they have symptoms other than fatigue, like headaches, pain or allergies.

Sometimes people with low blood pressure are thiamin (a B vitamin) deficient. Often these people do not sleep well—waking up in the middle of the night, unable to fall back to sleep. Often when people who do not have a lot of energy, do not sleep well and have low blood pressure take thiamin, they feel and sleep much better.

Herbs, like licorice, can help to raise blood pressure. In fact, if you have high blood pressure, licorice (we are talking about the herb, not the candy) should be avoided.

A cover story in TIME magazine tells you exercise won’t help you lose weight.

In the article, a professor from Louisiana State University says, “… for weight loss, exercise is pretty useless.”1

If you’re a regular reader you may already recognize the ignorance of this professor’s statement.

What is he missing?

Well, it depends on what type of exercise.

My rebuttal to this ignorance is going to take awhile, but bear with me, this is important.

Conventional exercise, like aerobics, jogging, marathon running are not the best exercises for weight loss. That type of exertion actually trains your body to make and store more fat.

When you exercise for long periods at a time, like most people do when they go to the gym, you push your body into its “fat burning zone.” Most fitness gurus tell you to get into your fat burning zone and stay there for as long as you can take it… but that’s a problem. You don’t want to burn fat during exercise.

Burning fat during exercise tells your body it needed the fat. This trains your body to make more fat for the next time you exercise.

But that doesn’t mean you can’t use exercise to lose fat. In fact, it’s one of the most effective tools you can use to hit and maintain your ideal weight. I use it myself and I recommend it to my patients.

However, if you want to burn fat and keep it off, exercise in short bursts of high intensity. This is the basis of my PACE program.

How does it work? It has to do with what your body uses for fuel during exercise. For the first two or three minutes of a workout you burn ATP, your body’s cellular energy source. Then you start burning carbs from muscle tissue. After about 20 minutes you switch to fat.

Exercising for short periods will use these carbs during exercise. Then you start to burn fat after your workout – while you replenish the carbs.

This is known as your “after burn.”

Researchers at Laval University in Quebec divided participants into two groups: long-duration and repeated short-duration exercisers.2 They had the long-duration group cycle 45 minutes without interruption. The short-term interval group cycled in numerous short bursts of 15 to 90 seconds, while resting in between.

The long duration group burned twice as many calories, so you would assume they would burn more fat. However, when the researchers recorded their body composition measurements, the interval group showed the most fat loss.

In fact, the interval group lost 9 times more fat than the endurance group for every calorie burned. Doesn’t this defy the laws of physics? No, it just illustrates that exercise continues to affect your metabolism after you stop. The short bursts stimulated a greater after burn.

You might think burning fat during exercise makes sense. But your body will adapt to any routine you give it, including exercise. And if you burn fat during a workout and you do that workout consistently, your body will make sure you have new fat to burn each time you go to the gym.

After a while your body becomes efficient at building and preserving fat necessary for long aerobic sessions in preparation for the next endurance workout. In doing so, it sacrifices muscle and preserves fat.

So don’t bother trying to use this strategy to lose body fat. Your body will fight you in the effort and you can only do it by sacrificing lean tissue like muscle and internal organs.

Durational exercise tells your body to build fat. That’s how your body adapts to this kind of activity. Then, if you stop your cardio routine, you’ll put on even more fat very rapidly. This is common as your body gets into the routine of making the extra fat.

It’s an endless cycle. And eventually, everyone stops doing cardio. Many just get bored. But many find they have to stop cardio because this unnatural activity has caused degeneration of their joints.

And another point: If you persist through middle age and beyond, cardio accelerates some very negative effects of aging. It lowers testosterone and growth hormone, boosts destructive cortisol levels and robs you of muscle, bone and internal organ mass and strength.

But short-duration exercise – likePACE – actually increases levels of growth hormone. Researchers from Loughborough University in Leicestershire, England tested growth hormone levels in sprinters and endurance athletes. On average, the sprinters had 3 times as much growth hormone as the endurance runners.3

The biggest point they missed is this: The most important changes from exercise occur after, not during, the exercise period. The way you exercise affects your metabolism for several days. The important changes begin after you stop exercising.

This is good news. It means all you have to do during your exercise is stimulate the adaptive response you need – like reducing your need for fat or building reserve capacity in your heart. Your body will continue making the important changes afterwards – while you rest.

You don’t need to go to the gym to get started. Even if you’re out of shape you can start with a challenge that’s within your reach.

Let’s take walking as an example. This is the easiest way to get started if you’re de-conditioned or facing a physical challenge.

Here are a few points to consider: When you’re walking, you need to start at a comfortable pace and slowly speed up until you feel your heart rate increase. When you feel this extra bit of exertion, maintain it until you start to feel winded. Then stop and catch your breath. Take a few minutes to recover and focus on your breath until you’re breathing normally. This will be your first “set.”

It may look something like this: You put on a comfortable pair of walking shoes and some loose-fitting clothes. You start off on the sidewalk or on a quiet street. You could also go to the gym and work on a treadmill.

You warm up by walking at a normal, comfortable pace for 1 to 2 minutes. Then you slowly start to walk faster. As you increase your speed, pick a target and then maintain it. This is a little subjective, so you’re going to have to get a feel for it.

For example, when you start off walking at a normal pace, imagine your top walking speed and then work back from there. So tell yourself, “I’m going to walk normally and then increase my speed by about 15%.” Then hold that speed and maintain it for a few minutes.

If you don’t feel like that increase is giving you a challenge, go up a notch until you’ve increased your speed by 20 to 25%. Then hold that speed and maintain it for a few minutes.

This is how you gauge your exertion level. You know you’re getting close when you feel your heart rate go up. And when you feel this extra exertion, look at your watch and see how long you can sustain it. If you can do it for 2 to 3 minutes, great. If not, it doesn’t matter. Just follow this pattern.

After you’ve challenged yourself for a few minutes, stop and rest. Ideally, you should feel winded. You should be breathing heavier than you usually do and you should feel your heart beating faster. Now begin your recovery period. Allow your heart rate and breath to return to normal.

When you’ve completed your first set, try another. At this point, repeat your first set without increasing your intensity. If you want to ramp up the challenge, increase the amount of time you walk at a faster speed.

By walking and first gauging your exertion capacity, you can do a productive PACE routine at your own level. It doesn’t matter how quickly you can walk. Even if your top exertion speed is just above your normal walking speed, you can give yourself enough of a challenge to expand your lung volume and build reserve capacity in your heart.

This gradual build up in cardio-pulmonary power will get you to higher levels and extend your endurance. Little by little, you’ll become more and more conditioned and better able to handle more intense challenges.

When you feel you’ve improved your exercise capacity – or if you want to start with something more challenging than walking – use this same formula with swimming or biking. Both give you a good heart and lung workout.

Swimming is helpful if you have a disability as the water’s buoyancy will take the strain off your joints and make it easier to move. Biking is also very effective for de-conditioned beginners and you have the option of doing it outside or in the gym.

Like walking, take it slow and evaluate your exertion level. Don’t strain yourself. Take small, deliberate steps and stay with your program. Within the first week, you’ll start to see progress.

By gently encouraging your heart and lungs to maximize their output, you’ll be able to improve right away. What’s more, you’ll be able to successfully start a productive PACE routine, no matter what your age, condition or personal history.

As you progress, do less walking and put more focus on swimming and biking. And when you feel ready, try some of the basic routines in your PACE book. Once you’ve made headway with your heart and lungs you’ll be able to increase your challenge and activate your native fat burner.

With a sufficient challenge, you’ll start to burn fat after your PACE routine. This fat burning will last as long as 16 to 24 hours after you finish. But your first goal will be to build cardio-pulmonary power by establishing a PACE routine that accommodates your current situation.

This in itself is a major victory. A lot of folks can’t get past the false assumption that they’ll never be able to do it. With PACE,/a>, you never have to make excuses, as you can always find a routine that perfectly matches your current level.