Simplicity Wellness

WALK YOUR WAY TO LONG-LASTING HEALTH

Movement is one of the Four Pillars of Metabolic Health - the keys to staying fit, happy, and healthy long into your old age. But getting started can be intimidating.

You don’t need to squeeze yourself into spandex or buy a gym membership to reap the benefits though. Let me tell you how to get started.

Walking.

It’s that simple.

Spending more time moving and less time sitting yields huge benefits for your physical and mental health, your fitness, and your physique.

Until you have a consistent walking habit, you shouldn’t give a second thought to supplements, macronutrient splits, fat oxidation, progressive overload, ketosis or any number of other more advanced concepts.

But how many steps should you target?

This real world study of 6,042 American men and women over 4 years found that risk of several major chronic health conditions, including diabetes, high blood pressure, obesity, major depressive disorder, gastroesophageal reflux disease, and obstructive sleep apnea decreased as daily steps increased.

The risk reduction for high blood pressure and diabetes plateaued between 8,000 and 9,000 steps per day, whereas obesity and depression risk continued to decrease at step counts well over 10,000 per day.

Increasing daily step count through brisk walking is the first step of my 4-phase Metabolic Movement Protocols. My most successful clients consistently average 8,000 to 10,000 or more steps per day.

Getting fit and improving your health doesn’t have to be complicated:

✅Track how many steps you’re currently getting.
✅Build up your baseline until you’re averaging 8000+ steps per day.
✅Get outside as often as possible: 20-30 minutes per day most days of the week
✅Continue for the rest of your (likely to be longer) life

How do you fit walking into your day? What’s your average step count? (If you don’t know, track it for a few days and let me know.)

DO YOU HAVE MORE LEFT IN YOU THAN YOU THOUGHT POSSIBLE?

My heart was racing, a vein in my forehead throbbing, my entire body tense. I was terrified but I pushed all conscious thought from my mind. I took two steps back out of the rack and descended into “the hole” with 400 pounds on my back for the first time.

Maybe 20 seconds later, I re-racked the bar, and staggered over to a nearby bench to sit down and catch my breath.

I had squatted 400 pounds for the first ever time. For five grueling reps that seemed like they took an eternity.

My son, who had invited me to come to the gym with him that day, later said that the first rep was enough of a grinder that he didn’t think I was going to get even that first one. But I pushed through four more after it. Quitting was not an option.

You might think back to times when you’ve been up against your limits.

A big project at work. Getting through the first year of parenthood on no sleep. Finishing your dissertation. Training for a half marathon.

Pushing the boundaries of what you’re capable of is how you grow…
How you become a role model to your children…
How you look yourself in the mirror in the morning…

If you don’t push your boundaries, how will you ever know what you’re capable of?

I’m reminded of a bottle of facial moisturizer I almost didn’t bring on vacation in November because I was worried it wouldn’t last the trip. I still haven’t quite pumped the last drops from it after four more months of daily use.

I underestimated it. Don’t make the same mistake with yourself.

If you don’t squeeze yourself for every last drop of effort, how can you ever say that you left it all out there and have no regrets?

If you’ve been considering making changes to your lifestyle but aren’t confident you can stick with it, try.

If you’ve been struggling to maintain the progress you’ve made and feel like it’s on the verge of slipping away, keep pushing.

And if you feel the urge to pack it in because it’s starting to feel tough, now is the time to find out what you’re capable of. Keep going.

You’ve got another rep left in you. And another after that. Keep going.

Yesterday, I briefly appeared on City News to discuss the potential implications of a program. While support reducing financial barriers to medications, there are a lot of concerns with how this program will roll out.

National Pharmacare needs to satisfy these 5 main principles:

✅Equity - are we supporting those who most need help
✅Timeliness - what are the operational impacts and how does this affect new drug releases in Canada
✅Appropriateness of therapy - how are pharmacists activated to ensure the right person gets the right drug and actually achieves improved health outcomes
✅Affordability - what are the impacts to the public purse and who are the stakeholders who financially benefit
✅Sustainability - financially and operationally, how does this program last the test of time

We know that the Canadian healthcare system struggles to provide care to all in a financially sustainable manner. But over the past decade, attempts to rein in healthcare costs have largely fallen on the backs of community pharmacy, where severe cuts to dispensing revenue have threatened staffing and the availability of frontline services.

In Manitoba, where we lag far behind the rest of the country in terms of authorizing and funding pharmacists to practice to the full extent of our training, our health system is in shambles.

Community pharmacy offers 1100+ frontline professionals operating in 460 points of care across more than 90 communities. We can can help improve access to quality and timely care.

But we can't do that if we are not given a seat at the table as national pharmacare is implemented. And we can't do it without a commitment to supporting us practicing to the full extent of our capabilities.

National pharmacare is an important opportunity to improve healthcare for those who need it the most. But the devil is in the details and Canadians should be watching closely and asking questions as the process of rolling it out occurs.

Pharmacists Manitoba

It's Shingles Awareness Week and Global Winnipeg was kind enough to give me airtime to help share information around what shingles is, common misconceptions, and how to prevent getting it.

Shingles, a reactivation of the virus that causes chicken pox, will affect 1 in 3 Canadians over 50 and causes a nasty, itchy rash that can leave scars. It is often accompanied by nerve pain that, in up to 30% of cases, can last weeks or months and occasionally for years.

Treatment includes antiviral medications and supportive care but the best option is prevention.

The shingles vaccine, a 2-dose series, is among the most effective vaccines available, with a vaccine efficacy of about 90% and duration of effect for at least 10 years.

It's not currently covered in Manitoba, although 5 other jurisdictions along with the federal NIHB and Veterans Affairs programs do cover it.

But even if you face out of pocket costs, it's an investment worth making.

And Pharmacists Manitoba has been pushing for in our province to be able to offer and administer the vaccine without requiring a prescription... the same in every other province.

Simple changes to help enable easier care closer to home.

THE SUPPLEMENTS I USE TO HELP ME LOOK, FEEL, AND PERFORM MY BEST

Let’s be clear. Supplements are, well, supplemental to the Four Pillars of Metabolic Health - Food, Movement, Sleep, and Emotional Wellbeing.

You won’t look, feel, or perform your best if you’re not consistently following simple but foundational practices in each of these areas.

But supplements can be helpful if you…
◾Have specific health conditions, situations, or nutritional needs OR
◾Are already practicing the key fundamental habits and want an extra boost to achieve results beyond the normal

I’ve put together a guide of the top, evidence-based supplements for metabolic health that I use personally and recommend to my clients when they’re looking for that extra edge.

In this guide, I provide my best picks for…

✅Strength and muscle
✅Stress, anxiety, fatigue and relaxation
✅Inflammation and cardiovascular health
✅Cognitive function and performance
✅Gut health and fat loss
✅Sleep

… and much more.

Based on the scientific literature and my clinical experience, I’ve personally used these products to supplement the Four Pillars of Metabolic Health as I’ve transformed my physique, reduced inflammation and controlled my autoimmune condition, improved my tolerance of stress and fatigue, boosted my athletic and cognitive performance, and more.

And, for the first time, I want to share this guide and provide access to some special bonus savings outside my client roster.

If you want a FREE copy of the Simplicity Wellness Supplements for Metabolic Health guide, drop me a comment below.