Did you ever know that before?

The AMA and the media always portray the AMA to be the legitimate "speaking entity" representing practicing physicians.

If we look at these figures a bit closer, what about this:

29% of practicing doctors are members of the AMA, that means that 71% of practicing doctors are not members of the AMA.

That's a better than 2 to 1 ratio of non-members to members.

So when the AMA "speaks out" for practicing md's, they are actually only speaking out for the ~236,000 members, not the ~814,000 practicing doctors.

Source: http://mediamatters.org/research/200906150005

This makes me skeptical about how the media portrays the A.M.A. and gives me reason to question the validity of both the accuracy in the media and WHAT THE A.M.A. SAYS in public…

What gives the A.M.A. the right to speak for the ~578,000 practicing physicians who are non-members?

• Does this suggest that many practicing physicians do not agree with the AMA's agenda?
• And if they do agree,  why aren't they members?

Silly me, I always thought that you had to be a member of the American Medical Association to be a doctor. It turns out it is really just a trade association - with a whole lot of clout.

Or is it?

So, more questions:

1. Is the AMA actually supporting the huge medical and economic debacle being thrust upon a non-receptive public in Congress?
2. Or is some other entitiy (or group of entities) merely trying to create that impression?
3. And what do the ~814,000 practicing physicians actually think about it?

Doctors are generally good people - like most Americans. They work hard. They care. They feed their families and they do the best they can. Like every other profession they have good days and bad ones. Some are financially savvy and some are terrible business people. Most doctors are dedicated to their patients' well being.

There is a perception among of the American public that they can trust their doctors. So if an entity with an agenda can make it look like doctors support something, it lends credibility to the "thing they are supposed to be supporting", inadvertently the American people accept this subtle validation and feel safer about this choice.

While it is PR genius, it is not necessarily honest to do this.

A Sidebar Regarding Bureauspeak…

Just for the record, I tried reading both of the letters written by the A.M.A. to Congress, one to Nancy Pelosi and one to Harry Reid. Quite honestly, they gave me headache trying to figure out what they meant.

When I was done reading them, I could not tell if the A.M.A. supports the legislation or not - maybe kind of it might and maybe not really it doesn't.

I know this. When I write a letter, I do my best to clarify what I am saying to the recipient. I am pretty sick of "bureau-speak", "double-speak", legal-ese, innuendo and political correctness and I think the vast majority of American taxpayers agree with me - regardless of some NYT poll saying otherwise..

Say what you mean and mean what you say. If you don't believe it - or it is not true in some way - don't say it. If it is true make it so everybody can understand what you are talking about.

This reminds me of Benjamin Franklin's 3 B's of Public Speaking: BE LOUD, BE BRIEF, BE SEATED.

Let's do a what if scenario and see what it looks like:

For purposes of argument, let's create this premise:

51%  (a simple majority) of AMA members support the Health Care Bill.  (Please note these figures are 'ball-park' estimates)

Let's look at the math…

In that scenario, the A.M.A. or the media could say a majority of A.M.A. doctors support the Health Care Bill

or

(.51)x(236,000)=120,360 doctors are in favor of the Health Care Bill.

Now given that premise, suppose the media reports that:

A majority of Doctors in the AMA are in favor of the Heath Care Bill in Congress.

Here's a reality check:

If it were actually a simple majority of all practicing physicians, it would require:

(.51) x (814,000) = 415,140 physicians to be in favor of the Health Care Bill.

It seems to me that the difference between the actual simple majority of practicing physicians (~415,000) and a simple majority of A.M.A. membership (~236,000) is a statistically significant difference where that number (179,000) is about 76% as large as the entire AMA membership.

This is not merely a statistical error, in my eyes. It is a deliberate construct and a distortion of the facts.

Are the media or the A.M.A. misrepresenting the facts when they make such a claim? Or are there special interest groups making it look like the A.M.A. is taking that postion?Isn't the media's real job to be a watchdog for the public's best interest and to dig for the truth no matter what they find?

Maybe that used to be the case, but apparently it is no longer…

You draw your own conclusion.

And further…

If the A.M.A. is not supported by a 'majority' of practicing physicians, which their own membership numbers would suggest,  who is supporting them?

Here is my point with all this, and I am not gunning for the American Medical Association, if we listen to the media, it often sounds like the AMA is a very powerful organization. When you look at the actual numbers, it isn't.

In fact, according to a June 14th blog, http://mediamatters.org/blog/200906140001, about half of the paid members are students in medical school or retired doctors…

The AMA’s self-presentation is as a membership organization of doctors. But many doctors, of course, are not AMA members, and the group “inflates its numbers by giving reduced membership fees to medical school students and retirees, who make up about half of the dues payers.” … [T]he AMA has found that it can’t rely on membership dues to generate the kind of revenue that the AMA leadership is looking for. Instead, they’ve turned to corporate sponsorship—businesses with money to make by casting a veneer of medical respectability around their pursuit of profit find a relationship with the AMA to be useful.

…What they are on the hook for, however, is the pharmaceutical lobby which provides at least 20 percent of the AMA’s budget. And PhRMA is in the midst of a multimillion dollar advocacy campaign against many progressive health reform ideas.

The real question is:

Who wants it to look like:

• The A.M.A. is the primary "spokeperson" for doctors - and 
• "DOCTORS SUPPORT THE HEALTH CARE BILL.."

My guess is that it would be an entity or group of entities that stands to benefit by the passage of the Health Care Bill. What do you think?

In my eyes, the real losers here in all this are the future generations of kids who will have to pay for all this.

The other losers are all the American people who believe in their government and who used to rely on the media for facts. It is fast becoming evident that neither are reliable resources for the truth and are rapidly becoming mere shadows of a fading viability of the past.

If you're like me this probably makes you feel a bit uncomfortable. I felt that way at first - after all those years of being self-righteous and "doing all the right things".

I thought to myself…

"Something is not right with this picture.

How could physical health only be 7% of the whole solution?

You mean to tell me, that I have spent 100% of my time and energy around being healthy on what can only produce 7% of the results?

Wow…

Seems to me that I'll get a lot more results if I focus most of my energy on the other 93%."

I recently had this discussion with Neil Habgood - a fellow Core Health Facilitator - during a lunch break at a training. Neil is an experienced certified personal trainer and a natural health professional. During our discussion, we acknowledged that it took both of us some time to adjust our belief system to accept this new information - being so focused on the physical aspects of health for so long.

As a culture, Americans are so conditioned by the fitness and nutrition industries to join health clubs, buy lots of vitamins, eat organic and spend 100% of our time and energy - regarding our health - on the physical:

• studying and taking courses,
• practicing and training so many hours a day,
• burning 'x' number of calories and
• eating, sleeping and thinking about working out and staying on a diet.

Yet in spite of all the huge efforts being made by people and organizations that want to bring health awareness into the mainstream including:

• all the infomercials for home gym equipment
• weight loss commercials and programs
• fitness and training dvd's
• the millions of books, magazines and websites published on health
• the entire collective efforts of the natural and alternative health industries
• all the athletes, martial artists, yoga practitioners, skiers, swimmers, long distance bicyclists and runners
• as well as companies like Whole Foods and Trader Joes.

!!! less than 50% of adults in the US exercise regularly !!!

What's up with that?

Source: J Kruger, PhD, HW Kohl III, PhD. "Prevalence of Regular Physical Activity Among Adults — United States, 2001 and 2005." MMWR Weekly. November 23, 2007 / 56(46);1209-1212

Perhaps the magnitude of the agenda on the other side of the coin is just too large. After all we are constantly bombarded with:

1. advertising from big pharmaceutical companies
2. recommendations from allopathic medicine (aka the A.M.A.)
3. rhetoric from Congress (and I capitalize that reluctantly out of respect for the founders)
4. the insurance industry
5. the weight loss industry and
6. the media

programming us that we are all sick and dying and to turn over our personal responsibility for health to a third party "who knows what's better for us than we do."

No wonder we're confused…

So Where Did the 7% and 93% Figures Come From?

It seems to be a naturally occurring ratio of human consciousness that correlates to the idea that 93% of everything is about energy. Like the number Π in mathematics or the Plank's constant in quantum physics - the 7% , 93% ratio seems to be a consciousness constant - like the 80/20 rule applied to awareness.

Recently more of these relationships seem to be popping up. For example many of us who have attended self-development seminars and read the books know about this one:

93% of communication is not verbal According to selectaccesstrain.com

That means only 7% of communication is verbal

In Dr Ed Carlson's training, Core Health,  we learn that:

7% of health is physical and

93% of health is attitudinal

The validity of this concept is measurable using the method of comprehensive kinesiology developed by Dr. Ed Carlson and Dr. David Hawkins's scale of human consciousness. This idea is also substantiated by the the work of Dr. Bruce Lipton (author of The Biology of Belief) who shows through his research in Biology that the membranes of cells are actually the 'brains' of the cells - not the nucleus as previously believed. Lipton proved that the function of the nucleus is reproduction, not cellular control.

Lipton shows that the membranes have receptors that are activated by vibrational frequencies specific to the function of each cell and when those receptors are activated, this triggers specific protein synthesis.

Long story short, since the brain is the central control mechanism for signals sent to the cells, the vibrational patterns of our beliefs actually trigger receptors in the cells.  The mind, in essence, can overide existing vibrational patterns and actually morph the cells. It can make a healthy cell weak or convert a cancer cell to a healthy one. That's what the placebo effect is all about.

The net is that our belief systems actually control the physical biology of our cells - no matter what we believe. When we change the beliefs and change the energy, we change the biology and the cells.

So energy (the vibrational composite of who we are) is the 93% of the health equation that is non-physical.

For the sake of argument, if it were possible to change the 'energy' directly, that would have a significantly greater impact on overall health than the physical 7%, would it not?

We actually have the tools to learn how to do this now - by construct, not accidentally or spontaneously:

Core Health and Heart Forgiveness.

Using these energy tools,  we can actually change our energy decisions and choose things that enhance our life energy instead of diminishing it.

I'm not saying that physical health isn't important, because it is.

Being 100% healthy physically is just as important as it always has been. Consider this: if only 1/2 of 1% of our ~50 trillion cells are cancerous that's ~250 Billion cancer cells. So 100% physical health is critical.

Only now we know that energy health is a much bigger part of the puzzle than we thought.

There is another side benefit of making new energy decisions. When you realign your your natural core of health in the energy, many physical aspects correct automatically. Fix the inner and the outer improves by itself.

Get proactive about expanding your health - the 93% - today. Get in touch today about Core Health and Heart Forgiveness workshops in Sarasota Florida and other parts of the country.

You'll love the results.

I AM Michael Barrett and I AM a Core Health Facilitator.

We are starting a new series of classes start on August 10, 2009 at Siesta Beach in Sarasota, Florida.

Classes will be Monday-Thursday  @ 7:45 am at the Blur Guard Tower @ Siesta Beach.

These classes are the culmination of Michael's 30+ years of study, training and practice in Qigong, T'ai Chi and martial arts Looking and feeling great is a lifelong practice.

GETTING OLDER MEANS GETTING BETTER, NOT WEARING OUT.

The first class is an entry level course called Rejuvenation Energy Alignment - Level 1.

This course is designed for the beginner to:

• learn at your own pace
• gently
• progress at your own level of skill

This is taught in a completely non-competitive environment where we take an approach to empower total health; in the sense that - this is total body health: integrating mind, body and spirit. I can assure you it works because I/we have been doing these combinations for a long time.

As teachers, we are patient, loving, capable and dedicated to helping people change their lives. If you practice consistently, you will develop a comprehensive vitality that is sustainable and fun. It feels great to feel great and we'll show you how. Activate the anti-aging process today…

More information here:

About Qigong and Tibetan Yoga at Siesta Beach here.

Qigong Sarasota

About Michael Barrett

The Rejuvenation Energy Alignment class…

The maximum benefit for students occurs when they commit to attending for at least 60 days. We say this because we know from experience that this gives the student enough time to throroughly learn the techniques, and develop the strength and skills which become habits.

It is human nature that once we create a habit we will stick with it.

We have also seen that once a student gets through the first 60 days, they do not want to stop attending because they feel so much better. With any fitness routine, the effects are cumulative and greater with time. We find friendships to be that way too!

Many participants may want to continue with the original training program but others will want to further develop their skills and learn more advanced techniques. Should a member of our group choose to stop attending after 60 days, they would be well equipped to continue their practice on their own and continue to maintain the benefits of the practice wherever they may be. We want you to take it with you and we would make a video for you to workout with if you complete the 8 week course and need to leave the group.

Helping you help yourself to strength, energy, and renewed vitality via a group workout is what we are here to do. Together we can embody healthy longevity with commitment, patience and love.  AND we can have fun together too!

More information here:

About Qigong and Tibetan Yoga at Siesta Beach here.

Qigong Sarasota

About Michael Barrett

Bring a friend to support each other if you like, and we will see you at the beach!

Blessings of Abundance, Joy, Health and Love,

Michael Barrett

If you are thinking of joining us at Siesta Key Beach for the Rejuvenation Energy  Alignment class to get healthy, here is what you need to know next:

So,  write this down and set your clock for an early wake up call!

Classes start August 10, 2009

Classes start at 7:45 a.m. meeting by the Blue Guard Tower on Siesta Beach so we can finish the sessions before the sun gets too hot. We plan to have 90 minute classes and bear in mind that this includes chanting, meditation and discussions in addition to the qigong and yoga segments.

We will do the physical part first.

This class is designed to work for all adult ages - most especially the 45+ age group - but again, all are welcome. There is no strain or struggle here - just renewal and individual improvement. 

We will gladly adjust our program to fit your needs and we will do so while keeping you within the framework of  the class. There is no need ever to do more than you can. Commitment and desire for healthy longevity is really the key to your success.

As they say, 80% of success is just "showing up!"


We are offering the class Monday through Thursday and recommend that students consistently attend 3 days a week for maximum benefit.

Get your positive mental attitude polished up and your attitude of gratitude firmly in place and bring your energy right on down to the beach.  Along with that bring a towel or a mat, your swimsuit and some nice cool water. 

We will be cooling off with a walk in the ocean of prosperity! 

We want YOU with US!

More information here:

About Qigong and Tibetan Yoga at Siesta Beach here.

Qigong Sarasota

About Michael Barrett

See you at Siesta Beach.

We believe that achieving health is a choice. First and foremost, we need physical balance - kind of an energetic and organic equilibrium. Much of this comes from the inside out. We have to clean up our act.

This equilibrium includes how we deal with our body, what we think about, how we deal with emotions, coming to terms with our internal connection to Spirit and then focusing on financial health. Otherwise, the money won't stick because until that balance is achieved, we're just like lotto winners who loose everything within a year or two - because they had a poverty consciousness when they got the money.

First we need to re-establish or recalibrate this equilibrium, then we need to cleanse:

the organic system
the emotional body
our "thinking" patterns

Next we tune back into the Voice of our soul and reconnect. We have to remember where we came from - our Source - and begin to express our gratitude on a regular basis - like every day.

Zig Ziglar says,

"Of all the "attitudes" we can acquire, surely the attitude of gratitude is the most important and by far the most life-changing."

The Law of Attraction

For a lot of years, I have talked about and read about the Law of Attraction. And for a long time, it seemed on some level that it worked for everybody else , but not me. Two key ingredients - that I have learned recently are:

• faith
• healthy self esteem

I can tell you with absolute honesty and sincerity  that the Law of Attraction does work and it's working for me.

Then we when can put all these mechanisms together - in a kind of symbiosis and create ==> Financial Health.

Harv Eker is always talking about the money blueprint and wealth consciousness.  The very same thing and concept applies to health - a health consciousness. In both cases, sustainable results require proactive choices first, and then action. They are not random accidents and they do not happen to us. We attract these results consciously and choose them.

We often get the wires crossed in this sequence focusing on the money first - when we should focus on physical, mental, emotional health and spiritual health FIRST.

What good is being rich if you feel lousy, don't have any energy or you have a terminal illness. And what good is complete health and vitality if you're not happy. Money and health consciousness grow together and emerge at the point of total health.

If you want to achieve longevity, live well and die rich, get started with the intention that this is what you are going to accomplish.

This is how to be healthy.

We're going to talk about different modalities over the coming months and how to grow a lifestyle through a new consciousness that is sustainable and full of joy.

Blessings of Love, Joy, Health and Prosperity.

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We Think by Default Most of the Time…

The reason is we are so conditioned to respond and 'react' to what happens in the world around us that many times we are not present when life is actually happening. We choose to respond in a way that 'limits our exposure' or indirectly seeks acceptance and approval from the outside. We speak carefully and we mince our words instead of fully living who we are.

It may sound trite but the reality is that all we have to do is change what we are thinking about and choose different language in our minds and speech. We can make that choice at any time. Something along the lines of:

"I choose to be authentic and be who I am instead of what other people expect me to be. I choose to use language that supports my higher good and empowers my life instead of diminishing it or myself in any way."

That part of the process is easy. The hard part can be letting go of the belief that:

• we are not worthy or
• we might offend someone or
• we won't be accepted

This change requires a couple of things. We need to use our faith or develop faith if we haven't yet done that. We have to choose to completely ignore what other people think about us - that is - give our self permission to do and be whatever we choose.

There have been times - and it has been struggle for me - when I have felt uncomfortable allowing myself to be vulnerable in front of other people.

But not any more. It's not that the change was hard, it was the 'letting go' part that was hard for me. It has been my experience that this particular issue is a biggie for many people.

Talk About Healthy Thinking

Here is a picture of Jessica Cox - an armless Martial Artist and Pilot !!!

But I got an email today from Jim Bouchard today with a link in it to his latest Power Pod cast entitled Jessica Cox: Creating Her Own Wings.

This is such an inspiring story that I thought it might be enough of a motivator to help readers to stop feeling sorry for themselves. I thought it might be a trigger to snap out of the process of focusing on limitations and start focusing on capabilities and opportunities.

You think she has limitations? Just try doing what she is doing with her feet - nunchaku.

If there were ever a person who deserves the right to feel sorry for herself, it would be Jessica Cox, but she doesn't. In fact from the discussion, it is clear to me that her self esteem is healthier than most people I know.

This interview is a really good example of why healthy thinking is so important and that you can change your mindset and choose health.

If Jessica can be a highly sought after motivational speaker, a black belt, and a pilot without arms, what's holding you back?

We are going to start doing a whole series of posts about healthy thinking, self esteem, returning to self-love and learning how to forgive ourselves.

These topics, interviews and blogs are all leading to a series of workshops and live events where learning the skills of a healthy lifestyle, self healing and "choosing health" is the primary purpose. Hands on workshops where we learn and participate.

Until a couple of weeks ago, I don't remember ever hearing that 'name'. As it turns out, amalaki is a fruit that grows near the base of the Himalayan mountain range in a place that has some of the cleanest air, water and soil on the planet.

This fruit is an integral ingredient in many Ayurvedic formulations and herbs and has been for thousands of years.

In my book, Healthy Wealthy Boomer, (and in my blogs) I define health as an integrated matrix of balanced physical, mental, emotional and spiritual components with the caveat that the core of true wealth is also rooted in excellent health. Without an integrated system balance, how is financial health or physical well being sustainable?

Over many years, these truths emerged in my awareness of health and wellness by observing people, methods and systems coupled with lots of personal trial and error. Eventually, experience and study led me to my own conclusions.

This week, it was a shock to realize that my ideas were not original.

Instead, these principles were discovered by my predecessors beginning as far back as 50 centuries ago in the Ayurvedic tradition. It's funny how the ego expands itself to a position of grandeur given the opportunity. Setting aside that realization, it is more clear to me now - than ever before - that my mission and purpose in life is to bring this understanding to as many people as possible, regardless who figured it out and when.

In 1973, I decided that I would be a doctor because both helping people and leading people to health was a growing passion as a 20 year old. After two years in the pre-med program as a 'b student' biology major, disillusion set in fully.

Here's why:

Over the course of two years, I had observed my co-workers (aka fellow students) and the system in which we were immersed. It became obvious that there were fundamental irreconcilable differences - in core philosophical and spiritual values - between my belief system and the belief system that was being systematically stuffed into my head.

It also became clear that if I sustained the level of misalignment through sheer will power and determination, something inside would eventually break. Another awareness was that my cohorts in study were no fun. There were no interesting spontaneous and spirited conversations - no smiles or laughter. I began to envision what kind of a person I would become if I perpetuated that lifestyle and relentless use of unbalanced mental expression.

So I finished the second year and collapsed after my last physics final on a Friday afternoon - not waking up until Monday morning. That collapse may have been exacerbated by the 14 day Macrobiotic brown rice fast I had just completed.

Aside from the fast, I had had enough and quit the pre-med program.

Without Knowing It, I Had Been Studying the Wrong Discipline

Apparently what I wanted to learn did not exist in Western medicine or in Western medical schools at the time. I had actually been considering a graduate studies program in the field of 'Psycho-Physics' - which was not even an option at the time - something around wanting to know what happens in human consciousness during different states of awareness.

But the undergraduate experience had been so unpleasant, I left the sciences at that point completely.

What My Professor Tole Me Privately…

Subsequently, I had a conversation with the head of the science department who I liked very much. (I got an overall 96 in his genetics class.) He told me - off the record - that the particular group of students I was in during those two years was an unusually high caliber group and unusually large as well.

As result, the competition had been particularly tough. I remember, for example, getting a 91 on an a Biology exam and getting a B-, on the curve.

The head of the department had been instructed to structure the curriculum to eliminate 2/3 of all the students in the pre-med program in that school during that two year time period. This policy stemmed from the fact that there were simply not enough openings available to accommodate that many students within the framework of the California University medical system.

Ayurvedic Medicine

Had I known it existed, it would have been much simpler for me to go to India and study Ayurvedic medicine. Instead I took a long 30+ year round about path to learn what I had been seeking in the first place. Even if I had to learn Bengali, Hindi and Sanskrit to complete my studies, in retrospect it would have been more rewarding, interesting and easier than the two year process I had experienced. And knowing me now - 35 years later - I really would have been an awesome healer.

So, back to amalaki.

In the article "Amalaki", in the June 2008 issue of Success from Home Magazine, Beth Silcox says:

"Amalaki is known as 'the great rejuvenator' and 'the nurse' and 'the fruit of immortality' by people in India."

and further…

"…amalaki is wild-crafted, grown and harvested with great care from small, private plots."

And this has been going on for centuries.

Western medicine and science are starting to catch on as more and more people are moving away from traditional medicine. This is happening in a big way because it is efficacious.

It has always bothered me that anything not within the framework of western allopathic medicine is called "alternative medicine". It seems to me that there are a lot more people (500 million) that regard Ayurvedic medicine as traditional medicine and western medicine as the alternative. And what about Chinese medicine?

My point is that the western medicine is waking up. They have to or they will lose a lot more customers. People don't really care what branch of government puts their seal of approval on something if it doesn't work. People just want to get well when they're sick. If I can drink a specific herb tea to get rid of a stomach ache - and it works - it's a done deal and - to me - in the grand scheme of things, that result is part of the Divine plan.

Scientific Results of Amalaki

As science studies amalaki they are finding out why amalaki is such an amazing fruit.

Beth Silcox writes:

"Unlike some superfruits known today, amalaki's chemical profile is not limited to a single superior ingredient or compound like vitamin C. Rather, amalaki possesses an unparalleled spectrum of antioxidants, polyphenols, tannic acids and bioflavinoids as well as high concentrations of amino acids, trace minerals, and other beneficial phytonutrients."

Western Technology and Ancient Eastern Wisdom Are Coming Together

It started way back when with books like "The Tao of Physics." Metaphysics and astral physics have been getting closer and closer for years. But now within the fields of biochemistry, molecular biology and endocrinology a similar process is taking place as technology continues to improve.

Western technology and eastern wisdom are gradually merging - and what a powerful combination. This is starting to result in magnificent accomplishments by applying new technologies to old knowledge.

A really good example of this is a product - and a company - called Zrii, which includes amalaki as a core ingredient. The people behind the creation of this product are stellar and the use of technology is done in such a way as to honor Ayurvedic traditions.

It has received the first ever endorsement from The Chopra Center for Wellbeing and is headed up by a highly decorated business veteran, Bill Farley.

And this is definitely an area of vanity that both men and women share - even if they won't admit it. Most everybody has visions of a 'cut' torso and lean trim abs when they look in the mirror.

Guys visualize it because women swoon when a cut, muscular man takes off his shirt. Six pack abs are a chick magnet because it's a sign of virility and it usually makes a guy feel younger when women turn their heads.

And of course all guys turn their heads when a fit lady walks by…

Maybe it's the vision of how 'they used to look' or how they've always 'wanted to look' - either way six pack abs have a  pretty strong social appeal. So much so that abs machine manufacturers and late night tv abs machine guys have made a bucket of money selling the six pack.

Abs Machines Do Not A Six Pack Make

I know, I remember buying one of the first abs machines on tv. It appealed to me because the emphasis of that machine was on the obliques and kind of a combo choice of crunch or side to side swivel pivot motion. Little did I know that an abs machine would aggravate old elbow injuries.

Bummer - no six pack.

2000+ Ab Crunches A Day Are Not the Answer…

At the end of the 90's, I sat behind the wheel 50,000 miles a year - demoing and selling food commercially as a food service broker and living with a classically trained chef. Over several years, I put on 40+ pounds - a little here and a little there - and it was a gradual change because I am over 6 feet and carry extra weight well.

This was the first and last time in my entire life to put on that kind of weight.

In an effort to trim and tune my abs, I joined the gym. For more than six months I went to the gym at 4:30 am - before work - 3 to 4 times a week. Over a few weeks, I built up the number of reps on ab crunches to 2200+ a day. This was not an isolated exercise - because I did a full run on the machines along with the crunches - biceps, triceps, shoulders, legs, back and lower back. but I figured if 100 was good 2000 must be better. And my core strength was basically still there it just had a bit of fat on top of it.

Subsequently, I have lost quite a bit of weight. But it wasn't from abs machines or any machines for that matter. In fact, from my own experience, I have concluded that exercise is not the key ingredient to six pack abs.

It is a component and exercise is important. But food combining, diet and the right kind of exercise are also essential.

I remember a well known radio personality - who lost a lot of weight - contending that eating less was the best way to lose weight - not exercising. And that contrary to popular opinion at the time, aerobics was not the way to lose weight, strength training was.

There has been a lot of controversy about weight loss and fat burning over the last 20 years. Fat free diets, low fat diets, high carb diets, high protein diets, low carb diets, yadda, yadda, yadda…

Hundreds of diets and machines later, the fact remains that never in history have so many people been so fat as they are right now.

• So either the experts are wrong or maybe they aren't experts at all
• Or, the experts love it when people are fat and aren't telling us the truth.
• Or there's more to it than we thought when they started the weight loss industry

Injuries played a role in correcting my weight situation with multiple elbow dislocations on both arms, a severely broken wrist in 2003 and a partially separated shoulder in 2006. My upper body has taken a beating. So a lot of things I had always taken for granted were quite different. For several years, when I tried to do a push up - for example - my left wrist would just give out. Quite a change from the guy that always had incredibly healthy - strong arms and hands - his whole life.

Kind of demoralizing too…

Metabolic Typing and Nutritional Typing

Over the years there have been different programs and books and "discoveries".

More and more, I think a lot of what constitutes a discovery is a return to 'common sense' - rapidly becoming the greatest oxymoron in modern society.

Eating whole, fresh, natural foods is the best thing for the body. Always has been. We need carbs, fat and protein in our diet to be healthy. And we need the right kind of fat to lose weight. Just like we need to exercise, sleep right and drink lots of water. You don't need a PhD to know that and I've been following that protocol for most of my life because it just always made sense to me. I've never liked the taste of processed food and have rarely eaten it throughout my life. Same with fast foods.

I have never taken a 'nutritional' or a 'metabolic' typing test but the concept made sense to me the first time I heard it. And over the next few months, I'm going to take both tests to see how the results match up with my own understanding about my body and also to make adjustments as necessary.

Please note we are not affiliated with either Dr Mercola or metabolictyping.com.  But here are two links: Dr Mercola's blog and you can search here for "nutritional typing" to find out more about it. Also here are the guys that offer the metabolic typing test.

For example, I have always known that I am a grains guy. I love to eat organic whole short grain brown rice. I love organic steel cut oats, whole wheat and legumes. I have often said that if I could only eat one food it would have to be short grain brown rice. When I eat it, my body feels good.

I have believed for a long time that different people should eat different foods because I always observed how my kids responded to what I fed them - by watching what they liked to eat and their response to foods over a period of time - not just their physiological response, but also behaviorally. I observed their sleeping patterns, physical energy and behavior and learned to tune their foods to their needs without telling them. We always ate healthy foods.

So I think that portioning and "proportioning" are essential ingredients to health and maybe are at the root of metabolic rates and efficiencies.

The Truth About Abs - Really

Currently, I'm studying a book and course that I bought written by a guy named Mike Geary, a personal trainer and certified nutrition expert. Besides being smart and a very good communicator, the guy is in awesome shape.

I looked at Mike's course online for quite a while before I bought it. I'm about half way through it right now and I have to say that it is the first book that I have read in a long long time that makes sense to me about abs conditioning, the real facts. Based on my search and trials of different machines, training regimens and diets related to abs, I think I have adequate experience and background to make that assessment. Also I have at a times been in extremely excellent shape via martial arts.

This is a picture of Mike Geary.

Much of what he says corresponds to my own knowledge based on experience and observation over the years. I like Mike's information so much I want to include it as a component of my new course I'm creating right now because all the info I was going to include in that section is already in his course.

I am going to follow Geary's abs program for the next couple of months and I'll show you the results.

But he's so right on. What a great course.  I'm convinced I finally have come across the secrets to obtain my first ever - real set of Six Pack Abs. He discusses the causes of modern obesity, nutritional guidelines and how to eat properly during training - along with a bullet proof set of exercies that anyone can do. His program is set up on levels of skill from 1-8. What a cool course, I love this course.

In the near furture we plan to interview Mike and post the interview online. We are affiliates of Mike and completely support him. We think you will too after you get his stuff.

I highly recommend The Truth About Abs. You get tons of bonuses - and not just filler fluff either  - but that's not the reason to buy it. I'm telling you personally it is one of the best information resources I have ever purchased and I whole heartedly recommend it. You will not regret it. If you follow Mike's instructions, you will be able to get Six Pack Abs yourself.

How Come I Can't Get Six Pack Abs? Because you have had the wrong information.

You submit a winning 4 (four) minute organic recipe for a blender in one of four categories:

• Soups
• Sauces and Salsa
• Smoothies
• Desserts

Soups actually take a little longer in a Vitamix than four minutes - but not much - because they may take a little longer to get hot.

To submit a recipe, submit a comment to this post below - and include the recipe in the comment.

There will be four semi-finalists chosen, one for each category.

And one finalist.

Good luck…