I have worked in the Health and Fitness Industry in some capacity since 1994. I started my career on the day I started training to compete in Bodybuilding and Ms. Fitness Competitions. In 1997, I became a Personal Fitness Trainer by studying to pass my certifications from The International Sports Science Association (ISSA) and The National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM). Since then, in addition to my most important degree, MOTHERHOOD, I have earned my BA in Kinesiology, MA in Spiritual Psychology, and I currently hold four Yoga Teacher Training Certificates. I am also a certified Parent Educator, and currently, I am studying to become a Certified Health Coach from The Institute of Integrative Nutrition (IIN).
My JUNIOR PROM Picture and in PEAK condition for Ms. Fitness Las Vegas and Ms. Pittsburgh Bodybuilding Competition, 1995
I have worked with a wide variety of clients from young adults to people over the age of 80. What I have always known is that every program needs to be designed based on the individual person's goals, existing health conditions, family history of disease, motivation levels, and over a hundred other variables. The term used to describe this is "Bio Individuality," simply: each individual is unique.
Before starting a client on a program I would spend at least two hours getting to know them. During those two hours in addition to checking their blood pressure, resting heart rate, current strength and flexibility, I would ask questions based on the health history form. From there, I would learn everything I needed to know about their genetic blueprint, their personality, their willingness to change and how much time and energy they were willing to invest on their health and wellness goals. Then, I would design a program that would assist them in changing their current lifestyle habits and creating new ones.
One challenging high hurdle I always had to gallantly leap over was working with clients who were taking medications for Heart Disease, specifically Statins and Beta Blockers. Beta Blockers were a nightmare for people who wanted to lose weight. Beta Blockers, especially atenalol and metroprolol, cause fat to accumulate in the belly area. They are known to lower metabolic rate, making it extremely difficult to burn calories. So, why on God's green earth would a Doctor prescribe Beta Blockers considering that most people's heart issues are related to lifestyle factors such as obesity, a sedentary lifestyle and in some cases, genetics?
Doctors prescribe Beta Blockers because they specialize in the prescription of pharmaceutical drugs to treat diseases; that's what medicine is. Medicine is not exactly health care. Health is the state of being free from illness or energy and it relates to a person's mental condition. Very healthy people rarely visit a Doctor, accept to show up for their routine yearly physicals. Medicine is the science of diagnosis, treatment and prevention of disease. Medicine is a compound or chemicals used to cure, halt or prevent disease or ease symptoms of disease. Though, Doctors can play a huge role in keeping people healthy through routine physical examinations, talking to their patients about healthy lifestyle choices, most specifically their focus is on disease management and their specific advanced skill set is using drugs to manage symptoms of diseases.
Our current medical model of "Health Care" is largely influenced by the Pharmaceutical Companies. In fact, a large majority of Doctors get most of their medical information from their Pharmaceutical Reps. Many of the chemicals that are intended to treat the symptoms of a disease can cause long-term side effects that can be just as deadly as the disease that they are trying to treat. Often the drug does not cure the disease but it makes the symptoms of the disease manageable.
Beta Blockers are a perfect example of a medication with a long list of potential side-effects. Beta Blockers are prescribed to treat high blood pressure, heart failure, migraines, glaucoma and anxiety. Though they have a long list of side-effects often people would rather, ignore the 6-8 point font on the medical insert and swallow a pill than to make a radical lifestyle change.
The most common side effects of beta-blockers are:
Fatigue and dizziness. Beta-blockers slow down your heart rate. ...
Poor circulation. Your heart beats more slowly when you take beta-blockers. ...
Gastrointestinal symptoms. These include upset stomach, nausea, and diarrhea or constipation. ...
Sexual dysfunction. ...
Weight gain
Often, the Doctor is stuck with either prescribing something to his or her patient or taking the risky step of recommending a lifestyle change. The Doctor has to navigate an incredibly slippery slope when confronting a patient with the option to take personal responsibility for their health by losing weight and exercising because the patient could feel that the Doctor is judgmental, discriminatory, or infringing on the right to personal choice. And, then there is the scary statistic that 1 in 3 Doctors will be sued by the time they are 50. A Doctor could lose their license in the event that someone shows up to their office and the Doctor sent them away empty handed. We can go into the insane legal challenges of being a Doctor and all of the ways they are strapped but I want to focus in on The Drug Care System in America by mentioning two types of drugs commonly prescribed for symptoms of Heart Disease.
Let's talk about Statins!
Statins are often prescribed to people with high levels of High Density Lipoproteins (HDL) in the their total cholesterol count. The statins are said to lower cholesterol and protect people from having a heart attack and/or stroke. For all of the benefits there are a long list of known side-effects that any good Personal Trainer or Health Coach will keep in mind are:
Muscle Pain
Weakness in The Muscles
Fatigue
Digestive Problems
Mental Fuzziness
Liver Damage
It would be beyond my scope of practice and it would open me up to potential lawsuits if I were to ever suggest someone go off of their prescription medication and instead change their lifestyle and their eating habits. I legally cannot and will not do that. However, I can explain to my client that in order to change their physique, to lose weight, tone up and or strengthen their body they have to push themselves beyond their comfort zone.
Here's the simple sauce: TO CHANGE THE BODY YOU MUST CHANGE WHAT YOU DO WITH IT!
In order to change the body, one must significantly increase the load that is applied to the body to make the necessary metabolic changes for an increase in muscle growth and fat loss. It can be done when one is on Statins but the drugs make it harder. Statins lower cholesterol but everything else gets compromised so much that often the person doesn't feel like they can push themselves beyond their comfort zone. While sometimes drugs are necessary, the overwhelming problem we see in America is the widespread pandemic of overprescribing drugs for something that can be controlled by a significant lifestyle change which would require personal responsibility and determination from the patient. The ultimate necessity in our sick and dying American Society is to start working towards PREVENTION of Heart Disease because in America, nearly half of our population has some form of Heart Disease that's about 121.5 million people. Nearly 7 in 10 Americans take prescription drugs.
Which brings me back to my video below because I have had a symptom of Obsessive Covid Analysis (OCA). When this whole COVID-19 Stay At Home Order was enforced, I couldn't at first figure out why now, suddenly The Doctors and Health Experts were all like "Get on board!" I was like, "What? Now we are going to do something? Why didn't we do something for the 647,000 Americans who died in 2019 of Heart Disease? Why didn't we have monthly shut downs and force people to exercise? If we can force people to stay inside to save lives why can't we force them to get off of their couch and go for a walk?" - That seems to me like a reasonable question considering how sick the Nation already was. Then, my irritation was compounded by this strange sounding phenomenon that I, an extremely healthy individual, could have COVID-19 for 14 days and not even know it and then pass it on to someone who is very sick and then they would die. That sounded crazy to me for so many reasons with the main one being the top researchers in the world have expressed that incorporating asymptomatic carriers into models is challenging due to the sparsity of direct evidence. - Do you hear what I am saying, "There is barely any evidence that infections can spread without someone showing symptoms." This should be so obvious as to why there is little evidence of this. With the number one reason being that, "How can you test someone if they don't show up for the test because they feel fine?"
My irritation became compounded when I studied the data and I knew I wasn't at risk of dying based on my health history, pre-existing conditions and limited exposure to lots of unhealthy people, my chance of dying of COVID-19 is less than 1/10 %. Not only that, but I don't hang out with anyone who is at risk of dying. I don't go to crowded multi-generational areas and I wasn't planning on french kissing or breathing heavily on any old people or anyone in a nursing home. So, I wondered why in the world would healthy people be forced to stay home considering unhealthy people have never been forced to stop smoking or to get off of the couch and start exercising.
None of it made sense based on the actual virus that according to the CDC is not deadly to most people. It is deadly to a very specific population of people. The science did not from day one support the need for all Americans to stay home. Then, I figured it all out. I followed the money. In America, our Policies are motivated by money. And, it turns out those that are at the greatest risk of dying of COVID-19 are also the ones paying the biggest bills for their prescription medication. Now, I knew why suddenly whoever the great and magical OZ is behind the Iron Curtain would go to such great lengths to save lives.
Check out my video to learn more. And, remember, the best way to treat a Disease is to prevent it! If you don't want to be a victim of the Drug Dealers then don't let yourself get into too many dark alleys where you have no other option but to say, "Yes." Say, "Yes" to your individualized health and fitness lifestyle.
Note: I am not a doctor. This blog is for educational purposes only with the strong hope that you will begin to explore doing more than swallowing a pill for your health and well-being.
Here's a great test to find out if you are at risk of dying of COVID-19. Sorry, to be the bearer of bad news. I share this with you for one reason and one reason only, "TO MOTIVATE YOU TO MOVE!"
A broken heart is hard to fix and once it is broken as in severely clogged arteries, damaged valves or a heart that just won't beat, you are only left with one safe choice and that's to take what your Doctor prescribes you. My focus is on catching people before that happens so they don't have to depend on The American Model Of Health Care.
In summary, we need Doctors who are trained in life saving interventions and we also need people in America to wake up to the fact that they can save their own lives by taking better care of their bodies throughout their entire life-span. I am eternally grateful for all of the Doctors and Health Care Workers who are on the frontlines of this virus and who work everyday to bring people back from the brink of death. That's personally more responsibility than I would want to carry. That's why I like working on the Game Plan for Prevention.
If anything good can come of COVID-19 I hope it's a creation of a new and better Health Care System for all. And, the cure for Heart Disease which begins at HOME in the HUMAN BODY. Save YOURSELF! YOU ONLY HAVE ONE BODY.
If you would like to have an online Health History Screening with me and Health Coaching, let me know. I am here to get you on your path of healing yourself.
Sending you LOVE, LIGHT and A HUGE DOSE OF PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY REMINDERS!
Get moving! Get fit! Save yourself!
Types of blood pressure medications. American Heart Association. https://www.heart.org/en/health-topics/high-blood-pressure/changes-you-can-make-to-manage-high-blood-pressure/types-of-blood-pressure-medications. Accessed June 25, 2019.
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