A NEW START – Nine Letters to Live By

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I’ve been in dozens of countries and studied a lot of people who have reached the age of 100, and they all did certain things that kept them healthy. I call them the nine biological imperatives and they form an acronym: A NEW START.

A … stands for ATTITUDE. The people I studied all had a reverence for their health. I’ve noticed when kids don’t want to learn, they don’t learn too much; but when they have a genuine enthusiasm for learning something … well, they learn a heap. I feel this is true with our health. All through my life I didn’t care about my health until I lost it. Then it became my main focus. I understand now that things don’t just happen, they happen justly. So, I guess there was some divine reason for my being sick for so long. One thing for sure is I’ve learned that it’s much easier being healthy as it’s a real challenge being sick!

N … stands for NUTRITION. There’s nothing mystical about nutrition. Nutrition is a series of four processes that the body employs to make food for our bodies to use. Food doesn’t cure or heal – our body does that. And food doesn’t act; it’s acted upon by the body. But it is through nutrition that we came into existence, and it’s through nutrition that we have whatever vigor we possess. Our health corresponds precisely to the quality of our nutrition.
E … stands for EXERCISE. The main focus of exercise is to have fun and just do it! When you are in front of your computer for quite some time and need some relief, just stand up and sit down five times without using your hands to get in and out of the chair; each time you stand up you use 102 moves just to do that. And when you sit back down again, you do the same thing. So five times will create 1,020 moves! Researchers from The University of Southern California found that people under pressure could make difficult decisions 20% better if they just stood up! They discovered that merely standing up arouses your nervous system by increasing your heart rate 10 beats per minute.
W … stands for WATER. The people I studied stressed drinking good clean water. A phrase that a lot of Olympic athletes I interviewed all echoed was, “Don’t drink the crap from the tap!” Distilled water is the best way to go.

S … stands for SUNSHINE. We can overdo anything; but sunshine in small doses is excellent for good health. Although I do encourage my clients to stay out of the sun between the hours of 10 am and 2 pm.
T … stands for TENACITY. The greatest ability in the world is “stickability.” See it all through, and it WILL happen for you.
A … stands for AIR. I’ve been in places where I didn’t have that luxury of fresh air for periods of time. As an athlete, I’ve learned that the person who wins in any activity is the one with the best oxygen. According to Jenny Steinmetz, Ph.D., a psychologist at the Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in Hayward, Calif., “Taking 4 deep breaths with a 7-second inhale and an 8-second exhale is the quickest way to reverse the ill effects of stress.” Smell a rose, blow out a candle … ahhhh, and it’s still free.
R … stands for REST. All these healthy people over 100 indulged in a daily nap and good rest at night. I’ve learned it’s the fastest way to feel better. Whenever I feel a little low for whatever the reason, I try to get a half-hour to an hour nap during the day, time permitting. I’ve observed during my travels in dozens of countries that we are the only culture that avoids naps in the day and make excuses not to take them.
T … stands for TEMPERANCE (or MODERATION) — the second T. We can’t have everything in life – where in the world would we put it?

We have over 60,000 miles of blood vessels in the body to keep us working — that’s two-and-a-half times around the globe all the while pumping enough blood in your lifetime to fill a freight train 25 miles long. Be good to yourself … we’re awesome whether we like it or not!

How Do You Treat Disease?

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I would first of all like to say that I don’t treat disease. Disease is the body’s resistance against a cause or series of causes. My greatest lesson when it comes to being healthy is actually in three parts:

1. We never catch disease; we earn it as it stems from the crud in the blood from being drunk with junk! I know that sounds like the antithesis of our educational system, but it has saved my life more than once.

2. We are all healthy automatically by design and sick only by default. Everything the body does is for the sake of survival or self-preservation. If you cut yourself, whether we like it or not, innately the would starts to heal. Sometimes it takes longer to heal depending on the amount of poison we have in our body that the body has to deal with on a normal basis. I would encourage you to go to my website, http://www.mangomanblog.com, and read all the free one-page articles. Click on free stuff on the right and go to the article section and read about the nine things that will keep you healthy all the time. Then click on either “The Complete Wellness System” and/or “The Perfect Diet Program” along with a multitude of testimonials for you to read and reflect on.

3. We only get well by what comes out of us, never by what goes into us. This one is a real biggie. In so many words, beat it, don’t treat it or you’ll cheat it. The only way I could help you or your loved one is to lay out the foundation for being healthy with a strong emphasis on sensible eating and fitness.

Does it ever seem peculiar to you that dog and cat food commercials stress the nutritional qualities of the foods, mentioning that optimal food gives your pet the best chance of growing well and living healthfully? Why, do you ask, are children’s foods marketed for their colors, shapes, exciting qualities and deliciousness, but not for the nutrient quality? Adult foods are promoted for their speed of delivery, their zest, zing and sizzle, but rarely for their health-building qualities. Why are these food commercials invariably followed by commercials for antacids? Did you ever wonder about that? Something to think about.

We are marvels by design and are never made to be sick at any age, no matter what anyone else says. Old age doesn’t cause sickness. If that was the case, then everyone who was old would be sick, and we know that just isn’t the case.

I only wish I had known this kind of information when I was so sick that life was always a problem to be solved rather than a joy to be lived. In all my years in this life-changing business of health, I have never found one shred of evidence in all the motivational books, The Bible, or any of the other self-help books to support the notion that we are in this world to be either sick, fat, miserable or broke. We are all here to have abundance in life and not created to be sick. I know that this information was a revelation to me and in turn I trust it will be for you! We can’t poison ourselves from the time we get up to the time we go to bed at night without developing some kind of problem. And the longer we try to appease the condition and continue the same habits that got us sick in the first place, well we will ultimately find ourselves in a worse condition.

This is like any other Law of Nature, much like the Law of Gravity. We can’t jump out of a 10-story building and expect to go Northeast. You can bet we’ll go South with great haste. In summation, do healthy things and you are rewarded handsomely with glowing health. You’re special and deserve it! I believe that with all my heart and soul. And sometimes somebody else has to believe in us until the belief in ourselves kicks in. I could talk to you for hours about your unique qualities and attributes.

Attitudes
If you have enough fortitude
to develop an attitude
of sincere gratitude
for your body’s magnitude,
you will have an aptitude
to reach a higher latitude
for an ultimate attitude!

There Are No Limits to Your Possibilities

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Look at things as they can be, as you want them to be. Imagine the possibilities and your vision expands. You can capture your dreams if you reach out for them. You have more possibilities than you can ever act upon. You have powers you never dreamed of. You can do things you never thought you could do. There are no limitations in what you can do except the limitations of your own mind.

When the impossible has been eliminated, whatever remains, no matter how improbable is possible. You don’t know what you can do until you try. Life is wonderful because it gives you chances. You have a chance to be as great as you please.

Commit to Get Fit, Part 2

There are a great many benefits to being fit, and I’m listing 10 that I think are most important. Today’s post focuses on the second five of the 10; we published the first five in yesterday’s blog post (below). So here we go … the remaining Top 10 reasons to adopt a fitness program, one that you will continue with for life:

6. Our bodies improve with use and die of abuse – “Use it or lose it” – says a top doctor. “Use it or lose it” is not just an old saying, it’s a firm biological law that applies to the aging of almost all parts of the mind and body, says Dr. Walter Bortz, head of the American Geriatric Society. Dr. Bortz surveyed more than 100 studies showing that the deterioration caused by age is strikingly similar to the deterioration that follows inactivity.

And studies show that exercise can stop or reverse much of the deterioration – although it cannot prevent aging – Bortz reported in the New England Journal of Medicine. He also stated, “we are doing people a disservice by putting them to bed when they are sick or injured. Exercise is simply cheap and effective which you can’t say about many things in medicine.”

“An active person of 70 is like an inactive person at 30. The most cutting part of it, of course, is the brain – keeping it active, alive and useful,” said Dr. Bortz.

7. Insures better digestion, absorption, assimilation and elimination of the food we eat.

8. Builds better confidence. I used to be fat and a way out of shape and I discovered that since I was out of shape, I had to either dance real good or be real funny so I could get the women. I was so glad when I could go into the clothing store and wear the clothes I just tried on without any alterations. Oh to buy something off the rack was a real treat.

9. Your sex life is incredibly enhanced.

10. Very economical – You don’t have to change your wardrobe to suit your waistline.

Now as the weeks go by I’m going to be sharing with you some fitness tips that are fun and very easy to do. Just getting in and out of a chair requires 102 moves by the body. So if we just do something, then we’ll be rewarded handsomely for it.

All the best.

Commit to Get Fit!

There are a great many benefits to being fit, and I’m going to list 10 that I think are most important. I’ll focus on the first five and post them here, then follow up in another day with a second blog post on the other five to round it out to 10. So here we go … the Top 10 reasons to adopt a fitness program that you will continue with for life:

1. More Energy – If our fitness program is supposed to make us feel great, then why do we do it to where we feel miserable? Have fun with it and do the kind of fitness you love to do so you will miss it when you don’t.

2. Less Nervous Tension – Working out is the best tranquilizer I know of. When I have something bothering me, I do my beach walks and pretty soon I forgot why I was stressed. I rode my bike 50 miles throughout town the other day, and I got all my errands done and went to the Organic Garden and ate two fresh tomatoes, one cucumber and some fresh basil and parsley sitting under a palm tree. How significant. And the amazing part of it all is you can do it too. Nothing holding you back.

3. Slimmer, Firmer Body – Being overweight can be a result of inactivity as much as overeating. Exercise doesn’t increase your appetite. It’s the inactivity that causes the control mechanism of your appetite to go haywire.

4. Greater Stamina, Strength, Endurance, Suppleness, Flexibility and Circulation – Enough said.

5. Best Insurance I Know of for Longevity – Amen!

Results of a study made by the National Health Interview Survey were published in a December 1999 issue of the New York Times. They kept tabs on about 7,000 people over a period of nine years and came up with some conclusions about what contributed to health and disease.

Among their findings:

• Men who never exercised were more than twice as likely to die prematurely than their active counterparts. Likewise, the death rate was double for sedentary women as compared with exercising women.

Regardless of your age and disposition there is a message in this: “Either make yourself fit or prepare for an early death!” I have observed that fit people are generally happier than unfit people. So there’s quite a bonus for being fit.

My encouragement here is: “Commit to get fit!”

All the best.

Mourning the Loss of Jack LaLanne

We’ve lost a great icon in the wellness industry, the great Jack LaLanne. (AP story – Jack LaLanne dies at 96; brought fitness to masses.) I have personally known Jack for almost 15 years now not to mention the years I’ve benefited from his great TV programs on fitness when I came back from serving three tours in the Viet Nam War!

We met when he came to Daytona Beach and we became instant friends as he and I had so much in common right from the get-go. First of all we both had the same physician who influenced and reinforced a lot of our wellness, fitness and nutritional education, Dr. Paul Bragg. So we both knew we were on the same page in that area of our lives.

But more importantly is that we both had a sincere passion to help make a positive difference in people’s health and well-being. And I’m so happy that we both shared some valuable time with several physicians on a huge audio program we did that Jack, Dr. Morter, Dr. Thomas and the incredibly fit, Lori Ann Lloyd contributed to several years back.

Each year after my 40th birthday under Jack’s influence I’ve been doing some very difficult physical feats that Jack praised when we did the show together. In particular, he acknowledged my 50th birthday, where I jumped on my trampoline for 50 minutes, then stretched for 50 minutes, then went to the beach for a 5-mile swim in the ocean, then ran back 5 miles to the starting point of my swim, then finished the day with a 50-mile bike ride! It took altogether a little over 7-1/2 hours, but it certainly was something to commemorate the half-century mark in my life!

On my 60th, I stretched on the beach for 60 minutes, I swam 6 miles in the ocean and I rode my bicycle for 60 miles. That was a tough day, but Jack told me how much he looked up to me for that, which really put the icing on the cake for me! (Even though I don’t eat cake.)

So all in all, it breaks my heart knowing that someone who was so encouraging to me all those years to keep me inspired so that I could give people hope that they too can get older and better and NOT old and bitter, has passed on.

Jack, I know you are there in Spirit with me but it’s not quite the same as being able to call you each year on your birthday, which I’ll miss more than you know.

We know that mankind is the only species who lives beyond the grave in the form of the written and spoken word. You will definitely live on for many years to come with your great work. I applaud you for making such a huge mark on so many lives that I’ll assure you won’t be easily erased.

It’s known that we judge systems by individuals and not by the validity of the principles. The dignity of your example spoke mountains for you, and I’ll continue to sing your praises for years to come.

Here’s a handclasp over the miles for you have done to make a huge positive difference and for making health your first concern and not your last resort.

And a special recognition to your lovely wife, Elaine, for always being at your side for all those years of devotion and support. She is a remarkable lady who has lost a lifelong friend, and my heart pours out to her and your two sons, Dan and Jon, and your daughter, Yvonne.

God bless you all in these times of sorrow.

Welcoming the New Year of 2011

Well, 2010 is over, and as we are focusing on the next year of our lives, I wanted to share something with you that will help in your quest for new aspirations for the New Year ahead of us.

I am thankful for those of you who read my weekly column. In the New Year, I’ll be incorporating a new piece to the weekly columns and they’ll be titled “The Miracles of the Wonderful You.” If you haven’t signed up for it yet (it’s free — no strings attached), please go to mangoman.com and look for the orange box or scroll down to the bottom of the page and look for the heading “Free Gifts,” fill out the info and you’re good to go! That’s the only way to get this new “miracle” content.

Too many people are drowning in the sewage of negative news and too many people are hearing “economy this” and “economy that” when ultimately, what it comes down to, is YOU! We are in an era that will be known as “The Economy of YOU!” YOU buying and selling. YOU making things happen. YOU taking the economy into your own hands and taking ownership of it. The 24-7 news cycle coverage on TV has people overwhelmed with all the doom and gloom stuff.

It is my intention with these posts on this blog to give you a way to break out of all of that garbage, and my weekly columns also are an attempt to do just that. So let’s start thinking of great things instead of all that doom and gloom from the tube.

We all need some positive uplifting news to keep us stress-free, and “The Miracles of the Wonderful You” should do that for you.

I listen to them all the time and that is what keeps me going when so many people are hurting (bless their hearts) to the bone with the way things are going today.

So here is the new strategy starting in 2011 with my weekly emails:

• One week we will have a “Healthy RECIPE” for you
• One Week we will have a “Motivational Minute” for you
• One Week we will have a “Miracle of the Wonderful You” for you
• Last Week of the month we will have an Article on Health/Wellness for you

And if there are five Sundays in a month then we will add one more Healthy RECIPE to that month.

So get ready for a great new 2011. If this is the year you decided to take control of your health and well-being, and are dedicating yourself to becoming the best you can be, then you’re in the right place. Start here, and only go backwards to see the previous posts on this blog to help motivate you to go forward. We’re with you.

By the way, you can listen to me in a couple of places:

1. One is on my new Web radio station, http://healthatlastradio.com; you want to listen to something 24-7? Try here. Streaming conversation you can plug into anytime and get carried away to greatness.
2. Another is on BlogTalkRadio.com’s Straight Talk with Gary Hopkins, where you can listen in every week at 11am Eastern time on Tuesdays for two hours to catch up with our latest discussion about how to get and stay healthy, fit and well for life!

All the best in 2011!

A Recipe for a Healthy Day

I think the most asked question in all my correspondence is … how do I do it all? How can I fit all this stuff into a day with fitness, eating the best, working several hours a day, traveling a lot and keeping up with a social life and all?

I got to thinking about that and thought well, let me give you a complete day with Dr. Wayne (and I’m going to add my energy drink in this one as well which will do nothing short of amaze you at how wholesome you’ll feel without all those jitters). Then next week I’ll be giving you a recipe for a week’s fitness program!

Here’s my basic daily schedule:

• Up @ 7:30 AM
• 6 Things

1. Devotions
2. Read something positive for 1 minute
3. Drink a couple of glasses of water
4. Brush teeth
5. Dry-brush skin
6. Go outside to breathe in the fresh air 10 times + stretch on my pull-up bar for 10-15 seconds

• Walk 1 mile to start the day (It’s a doable act ANYONE can do who’s not handicapped physically)
• Read
• 8 AM – Breakfast
• Work
• 10 AM – Mid-morning fruit
• Work
• NOON – Light Lunch
• Work
• 1-2 PM – Nap
• 2-4 PM – Train
• In town for errands
• 6-7 PM – Evening meal
• Work! (or if I’m on the road, this is when I socialize)
• 1-2 AM – Bedtime

We know that it’s better to sleep six hours at night and take a one-hour of nap in the day than it is to sleep eight straight hours. This way you can add one hour to your waking hours and be as productive as you can be. On our REST interview with Gary Hopkins (Gary H-for-Health) on BlogTalkRadio.com we talk about that.

The reason why I like working for myself and from my home office is that I’m in TOTAL control of my time.

I’ve had people tell me they don’t have time for what I’ve just described as a healthy day as their 24 hours already are used up. Isn’t that funny when you think about it, I’ve just NEVER met anyone yet in all my years who only used up 22 hours of a day. We all use up our 24 hours every day!

We should all be in total control of our time as it’s really the ONLY thing we honestly have. And of course our health is our most valuable asset to try to maintain in those 24 hours we have.

All the best.

What I’ve Learned

I’ve learned a few things during my time on Earth, and I’d like to share some with you today.

• I’ve learned that, no matter what happens or how bad it seems today, life does go on, and it will be better tomorrow.
• I’ve learned that making a “living” is not the same thing as making a “life” and that life sometimes gives you a second chance.
• I’ve learned that you shouldn’t go through life with a catcher’s mitt on both hands. You need to be able to throw something back. And that if you pursue happiness, it will elude you. But, if you focus on your family, your friends, the needs of others, your work and doing the very best you can, happiness resides within you.
• I’ve learned that every day, you should reach out and touch someone. People love that human touch — holding hands, a warm hug, or just a friendly pat on the back. Sometimes all people really need is a little something to make them smile.

People will forget what you said … people might forget what you did … but people will NEVER forget how you made them feel. Best to you and thanks for reading this blog. It helps me to know that I am making a difference. Thanks a million.

All the best.

Jump-Rope Video: NEW!

Hey all … just a heads up that we’ve posted a new video on my video page (http://mangomanblog.com/videos/) for you to check out. A guy wanted to film me jumping rope. It’s very short, not even a minute long, as this is all the guy who had the camera could film on his I-phone. I was at the park at the end of my street when he asked me to do this.

Take a look at it and let me know what you think.

All the best.