Have you every watched your computer defrag?

You may well ask, 'What is a defrag?'

Well, to keep a long story short, and in layman's terms, when your computer saves information to the hard disc it can tend to do it in a chaotic fashion. Bits of the one document can be saved in different places on the disk.

The net effect of this chaotic placement of data is that it slows down the retrieval of the information. It takes a long time for documents to open up. Over the weeks, months and years the ghosts in the machine appear to be slowing it down.

Microsoft describes it thus:

Disk Defragmenter consolidates fragmented files and folders on your computer's hard disk, so that each occupies a single, contiguous space on the volume. As a result, your system can gain access to your files and folders and save new ones more efficiently. By consolidating your files and folders, Disk Defragmenter also consolidates the volume's free space, making it less likely that new files will be fragmented.

If you've never defragged your disk, you may like to see what happens.

Go to: -

Start

è  programs

     è  Accessories

          è  System tools

               è  Disk defragmenter

It could take 20 minutes or so before the operation is completed.

So what's the point of all this.

My theory is that if you're not in great shape, as evidenced by the symptoms of metabolic dysfunction, it's time you gave yourself a metabolic make-over, starting with a 10 day metabolic defrag.

DYSFUNCTION

When we talk about 'poor health', it becomes easier to grasp the concept when it's defined as 'body system dysfunction'.

Most of the diseases that plagued this country 100 years ago have disappeared.

The current illhealth epidemic relates not so much to 'diseases' that come out of the blue, but rather to personally generated, lifestyle-induced dysfunctions. They're private rather than public health issues.

(Another of the great tragedies of modern public health policy is the persistent transfer of the costs of privately induced dysfunctions to the long-suffering Australian taxpayer. State Governments are going broke because of it.)

Consistently good public health policy over the last 100 years has removed a lot of the diseases and created the foundation for good health - a foundation that most people seem reluctant to build on.

This foundation of good health as supplied by our governments is about as good as you can get - clean water, deep drainage, immunization, affluence ...

Our hospitals are about as good as you'll get too. Every time I watch RPA I stand in awe of the things they do to fix people up. (The only problem with our public hospitals is that they don't send out accounts. It's open slather for any one who wants a couple of night's accommodation. No wonder they're going broke.)

I'm not so sure about the quality of the general medical practice network - it's patchy.

Private Health

So it's not public health we have to worry much about, most of that worry is done for us. On the contrary, it's our own private health we have to worry about and if we don't, the symptoms of dysfunction ultimately rear their ugly head.

I can think of three principal categories of dysfunction (if I thought longer and harder I could probably think of more)

▪ metabolic

▪ musculo-skeletal

▪ psychological.

So what's the cause of the problem? Basically it's people in poor shape due to a sedentary lifestyle, poor diet, lack of personal resilience, toxic environment ... Or it could be due to laziness, ignorance, stupidity or attachment to the comfortable way of life!

Anyway, what ever it is, people are in bad shape and getting worse.

They're at the left hand end of the health, fitness and wellbeing continuum, a graduated scale from excellent to dreadful; a scale where most people gradually morph from the RH end down to the LH end.

The slide for most people is imperceptible. You don't suddenly become dysfunctional in a day.

In the early 60's John Kennedy (not the coach of Hawthorn) said

'The softening process of our civilization continues its persistent erosion.'

It's a slow and persistent erosion of good health to bad. (Of course Kennedy hadn't seen nuthin! If he'd lived another 40 years and looked around, his eyes would roll through to the back of his neck.)

The good news about this is that if personal lifestyle choice is the major cause of the problem, then personal lifestyle choice can be a major influence in the solution.

Furthermore the redemption can happen pretty quickly. Dysfunction generated over 30 years can be dramatically improved in a few months.

So, do something different.

Galvanise yourself back into exceptionally good health. Move yourself further to the right on the health, fitness and wellbeing continuum.

80:20

There's a caveat here.

As a rule of thumb, I estimate that for 80% of the people I see, the advice I'm about to tender is reasonable advice. However for the other 20% there's always the risk that feelings of dreadfulness are attending a body system dysfunction that is past the metabolic make-over therapy. You may have a dysfunction that's so serious that it's become a medical condition. In which case you need to see your physician.

You need to make up your own mind about this and the course of action you need to take.

THE METABOLIC MAKE-OVER

So what can you do to move further to the right hand end of the health, fitness and wellbeing continuum?

Firstly embark on a long term metabolic make-over.

The metabolic make-over is just another name for doing the things you need to do to get yourself back into exceptionally good shape.

Understand that it could take months (maybe up to 12 months or even more) to get to the point where you're really happy with your health, fitness and wellbeing.

To paraphrase Goethe, begin now and move confidently in the direction of good health.

Set aside 10 days to get yourself focused and serious about a lifestyle change.

You can start next week, or if you're in poor shape start a training program so you're fit enough to do a full 10 day defrag in say, a month's time.

Ideally, take a week off work, but if you can't, you can still fit the program in.

Start on a Friday and finish on the following Sunday.

Equipment

Get yourself a

-  heart rate monitor

-  set of scales

-  glucose monitor

-  blood pressure monitor.

These are basic items you can use to monitor bodysystem function.

To use the aerabyte aerobic exercise system you'll need a heart rate monitor. I use a Polar monitor. You'll get one for about $100 from a sports store. It's an indispensable piece of exercise equipment.

After you've exercised, meditate and at the end of the meditation take your blood pressure. In a few days you'll probably get a pleasant surprise.

Measure your glucose level after your meditation session as well - after the exercise and before you've had anything to eat.

Weigh yourself after you've exercised, meditated and showered, before you've eaten and while you're in the buff.

AEROBIC FITNESS PROGRAM

It's going to be a disciplined 10 days. You won't die!

Aim to get at least 2,000 aerabytes of aerobic physical activity in the 10 days.

You can choose to spend a lot of time doing low heart rate exercise or a shorter period of time with high heart rate exercise.

Vary the intensity of your workouts, you don't want to bust a poofer valve.

Aim to get two aerobic fitness sessions in on the two Saturdays and Sundays. If you can get two sessions in on most other days you'll easily attain your target of 2,000 aerabytes.

Here's the formula for a seven day aerobic exercise schedule. Being a 10 day defrag you can aim for a higher number of aerabytes each day.

To read more about what an aerabyte is click here.

I suggest you do your exercise first thing in the morning and again before tea.

When you've finished, do the meditation (see below) take your blood pressure and glucose levels. Weight yourself after you've had a shower and while you're still in the buff.

You probably won't need to drink anything while you're exercising, but if you do, drink the same amount each day so that when you weight yourself you're comparing apples with apples.

My stepper measures steps and calories. I record those as well.

A word on blood pressure

If you're on beta blocking blood pressure lowering medication you may find it hard to get your heart rate up. You may need to go back to your prescriber and get a different drug.

STRENGTH TRAINING

Strength training is increasingly being recognised as an important part of restoring poor metabolic function to good - particularly when it comes to reducing blood glucose levels.

Here's the program.

DIET

It's going to be a disciplined 10 days. You won't die!

You're going to eat less. After a couple of days your stomach will have shrunk a bit so you won't feel hungry. Put up with it.

You're going to cut back on fat and get rid of flour, sugar and alcohol out of your diet. Get used to it.

Post this notice on your fridge door.

It will take a bit of discipline to live mainly, but not exclusively on vegetables and fruit. To assist you to do this I suggest you make up the soup and stick with the Cardio-Diabesity Diet for the 10 days.

I also suggest you include some psyllium husk in your diet to keep the system moving.

As a result of this change in diet you'll lose several kilograms in weight.

Firstly, if you eliminate flour from your diet, eat more vegetables and fruit and exercise you'll lose some water. The good news about this is your blood pressure will come down. (You could go to your doctor and get a prescription for a diuretic, which is one of the most common treatments for high blood pressure - or just eliminate flour.)

Secondly you'll lose weight as your bowel becomes more active.

After that the weight loss will be governed by the laws of thermodynamics. You'll be eating less calories because you've cut back on fat, sugar and flour. You'll be using up more calories because of the exercise. You'll burn up body fat. You'll lose weight. I'm not sure where it will go but someone somewhere will get fatter.

Supplements

Get yourself some coenzyme Q10 and take a 50mg tables three times a day with food.

Get yourself a good multi-vitamin supplement.

Take half a dozen omega fat capsules; 2 capsules, three times a day with food. Omega 3 fats are nature's anti-inflammatories.

Get yourself come garlic capsules and take a couple a day.

MEDITATION

In the quietness of meditation the body systems relax - from the inside.

Set aside a minimum of ten minutes a day to sit down on a chair somewhere, eyes closed, focused on breathing deeply and slowly and relaxing the parts of your body from the top of your head down to the bottom of your feet.

I suggest you do this after your aerobic exercise. Take your blood pressure at the end of it. If you're hypertensive you may get a big surprise. If you're on medication you may even need to modify the dose. You may wish to talk to your prescriber about this.

Read about meditation.

THE FITNESS TRACKER - RECORD YOUR PROGRESS

I highly recommend you record your progress. Click here to download a copy of my Fitness Tracker record sheet.

Included in the sheet are places to record your visits to the gym to do weight training and a place to record your situps and pressups. In this culture, you'd be a mug if you didn't do your situps and pressups regularly.

If you'd like a copy of the Fitness Tracker Excel spreadsheet, send me an email and I'll email one back to you.

THE EFFECTS

The first effect is you'll feel better, you'll have heaps more energy.

If your blood pressure has been elevated it will probably have come down. Similarly with blood glucose and cholesterol. (If you're on cholesterol lowering medication give serious thought to giving it away. Exercise with vigour, eat from the top of the Hourglass, meditate and take 2000 - 3000mg of vitamin C a day. There's mounting evidence that the efficacy of the statin drugs is not what it's cracked up to be and the side effects - memory loss, brain fog and muscle pain - definitely not worth it. Start you own research by Googling 'statin side effects'. You be the judge. Don't believe what I say. Make up your own mind.)

You will have lost some weight. (Admittedly some of it will be water.)

But most importantly you will have adjusted your metabolic set point and given yourself the kick start to do the things that fit and healthy people do to keep themselves fit and healthy.

You'll have exchanged some bad habits for some good habits, in particular

-  exercising more

-  cutting junk out of your diet

-  meditating.

AFTER THAT

After your 10 day metabolic defrag you'll be able to continue on your metabolic make-over and continue to do the things that normal fit and healthy people do to keep themselves fit sand healthy.

You'll be getting an adequate number of aerabytes a week.

You'll be eating from the top of the Hourglass.

You'll be feeling absolutely fantastic.

In the mean time stay tuned, highly tuned and the next time I write to you I'll tell you why the double-blind gold standard for selective-evidence based medical and pharmaceutical research is bunkum.

Regards

John Miller

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If you've got good news to report, I'd love to hear from you.