Sustainable Health

A Lifelong Fitness Guide for All

SUSTAINABLE
HEALTH
Kim Brown, CPT, CSCS
Kane Sivesind, CSCS
Disclaimer
The information in this manual is offered for educational purposes
only; the writers are not medical doctors in any way shape or form
and therefore advise you to consult your physician and others
with questions and before participating in any exercise program.
You the reader are free to disagree with any points. In fact, you
are encouraged to wrestle with these thoughts and topics. We
hope that you try to implement some of these strategies in your
everyday life and see how you feel. We hope that by learning to
listen to your body you will nd the truth through your efforts and
observations, thus empowering you to take back control of your
health and life!
Remember, only you can feel what is truly best for your own body!
If you are going through present medical challenges please
lter your thoughts through your health professional.
Table of Contents
Section 1 - Introduction .................................................................................................5
Section 2 - Understanding Health .................................................................................7
! Health vs Fitness .................................................................................................9
! Anabolic vs Catabolic ........................................................................................12
! ! Exercise....................................................................................................14
! ! Eating........................................................................................................18
! Your Vehicle........................................................................................................22
! Seasonal Adjustments........................................................................................28
Section 3 - Steps to Recovery ....................................................................................30
! Step 1: ...............................................................................................................31
! Step 2:................................................................................................................32
! Step 3:................................................................................................................34
! Step 4: ...............................................................................................................36
! Step 5: ...............................................................................................................39
! Step 6: ...............................................................................................................42
! Step 7: ...............................................................................................................44
! Step 8: ...............................................................................................................45
! Step 9: ...............................................................................................................46
! Step 10: .............................................................................................................47
Moving Forward...........................................................................................................50
About the Authors........................................................................................................51
SECTION 1: INTRODUCTION
6
Introduction
! We are living in a country whose current overall health has
gotten way out of control. From every day stress, to the decrease
in eating real food, and to the poor advice given by the media, we
are becoming more and more unhealthy by the minute. It has
taken many years to get to this point and there is no quick x! The
solution will be a journey and this is one of the rst things that
people need to understand.
We are lucky enough to live in a nation that offers great
opportunity, but with this great opportunity comes immense
distractions. The constant marketing of instant gratication based
on emotion and no limits is hurting our chances of becoming
healthy. What took twenty years to gradually build up can not be
undone in 12 weeks!
If you can accept this concept, and even better, embrace it, you
will be headed in the right direction and able to start making
sustainable changes to your health.
Even if you are not at a point in your life where you need this
advice, we recommend you still read the information; life goes in
stages and there may be a time in the future where this
information will be very useful.
This manual is not the end point, it is the beginning; the
beginning to a new, healthier you!
SECTION 2: UNDERSTANDING HEALTH
8
Understanding Health
In order to x our health and start feeling our very best, we rst
have to understand exactly what it means to be healthy. This rst
section will go over some of the basics that we all need to know
about our bodies and how it really functions.
Some of the information that we cover will be review, some new;
however, throughout this entire manual we urge you to keep an
open mind and think about some of your own experiences with
this information. We also urge you to re-read it a couple times as
new things might pop out at you each time.
We will start by dening a few terms that we will use throughout
this manual like health, tness, anabolic and catabolic. We
will then go through a deeper explanation of how our body gives
us energy and how our actions, movements and food impact our
hormones. While some of this can get pretty complex, we will
keep it fairly simple to ensure everyone can understand the basics
of the human body.
Lets Get Started!!
9
HEALTH:
Are they the same thing? NO!
FITNESS:
The foundation that gives you the ability to
start and nish
Think INTERNAL
The ability to endure
Think EXTERNAL
Can you be t and have poor health? YES!
Examples are becoming more common:
A marathon runner that dies of a heart attack
A model who is anorexic or bulimic
An obese person who completes a triathlon
An ironman that struggles with depression
An individual who constantly gains and loses weight
Health vs Fitness
10
Even though the opposite is engrained in our culture,
remember this concept:
THIN = HEALTHY
These are some of the real
signs of health:
Moisture, Oils on the skin
Color in the face
Posture, Strength in the
body
Health vs Fitness
Just because someone is thin does not necessarily mean
they are healthy. While they could be very healthy, our
society continues to label skinny as healthy no matter
what. You have to look on the inside to really nd out if
someone is really healthy!!
Who looks healthier?
11
Take a moment and reect on your own life...
Think about the times you had a lot of energy in your life.
How was your health during those times?
Now think about the time that you had little energy.
How was your health at that time?
Health vs Fitness
Good Energy = Good Health
This is one of the key concepts of this entire manual!
All systems in nature build and grow with ample energy and
break down and die without energy
(hypo energy)
However, too much energy can lead to burn-up
(hyper energy)
Both of these situations can be very detrimental to your health.
Most people understand why too little energy can be damaging
but do not ever realize too much can also hurt our health.
Think of hyper energy like a nuclear power plant that is about
to burn-up and explode because of the unstable excess
energy. While this might be an extreme example, it will
hopefully show you that good energy means balanced energy.
12
Anabolic vs Catabolic
ANABOLISM:
CATABOLISM:
Means to BUILD UP
Means to BREAK DOWN
Very simply put...
In general, our society has become very catabolic in nature. We are
constantly under stress and rushing from one thing to another. We
believe that MORE is always BETTER and love pushing our bodies to
their limits. Many of us are running on anxiety and fear due to packed
schedules, over exercising or even over spending and going into debt.
While working hard is not always bad, you also have to work smart. You
have to realize when you are in a catabolic state and make sure your
body becomes more anabolic in times of stress. As you will see in the
manual, one of the keys to sustainable health is the ability to make sure
we do not stay in a catabolic (stressful) state for a prolonged period of
time.
This all goes back to managing our energy. Anabolism simply means
we are conserving our energy and using it to build ourselves up,
instead of always expending energy.
13
Anabolic vs Catabolic
HORMONES are the MESSENGERS for the
body that say BUILD UP or BREAK DOWN
ANABOLIC
HORMONES
BUILDS TISSUE
Growth Hormone
Testosterone
IGF 1 Insulin like growth factors
Insulin
Estradiol
CATABOLIC
HORMONES
BREAKS DOWN TISSUE
Cortisol
Adrenaline
Glucagon
Cytokines
Other Catecholamines
FOOD and MOVEMENT (Exercise) have an affect on HORMONES
14
What exercises BUILD you up and
What exercises BREAK you down
Anabolic vs Catabolic
ANABOLIC
TRAINING
Exercises That BUILD You Up
Squat/Deadlift
Short Sprints
Pressing
Pulling
Slower more controlled tempo or
very quick in duration
Longer rest periods
Exhausts the Nervous System
CATABOLIC
TRAINING
Exercises That BREAK You Down
Aerobics
Distance Running
Circuit Training
Faster Tempo
Longer Duration
Shorter Rest Period
Exhausts the Cardiovascular
System
15
Does this mean that I should never
run long distances?
Anabolic vs Catabolic
NO!
Long distance running can be a valuable tool for the right person, at the
right time. If you have an abundance of energy it can be a great way to burn
some of it off.
However, you should never be running in FEAR or feel like you HAVE to do
it. This will only cause your health to deteriorate and send you on a
downward spiral. If you wake up sluggish every morning and use running to
get quick energy, you will feel better by taking a break from running and
incorporating anabolic movement and eating habits.
There are many other great ways to workout besides running. Try
incorporating anabolic workouts and we think you will be pleasantly
surprised with how you feel (internal) and your achievable results (external).
Speaking of how you feel after a workout...
16
Whats your path?
Anabolic Training
BUILD UP
Seasonal adjustments
Slow
Short
Meditative
Controlled pace
Warm
What does this feel like after a
workout?
Slight increase in mental capacity, energy,
emotion and temperature with little to no
decrease as long as one eats within a
couple hours.
What does this feel like during
workout?
1. Gradual enhancement of energy.
2. Pain free
3. Moisture in arm pits, groin, and behind
the knees not just on the forehead.
4. Pump or swelling in muscles.
What does this feel like after a
workout?
Large increase in mental capacity, energy,
emotion, and temperatures for up to four
hours then large decrease of each quality
will occur.
What does this feel like during
workout?
1. Increase in energy the rst ten minutes.
2.Total body exhaustion fteen to twenty
minutes into the workout.
3. See white spots with quick movement
4. Light headedness
5. Upset stomach
Catabolic Training
BREAK DOWN
No seasonal adjustments
Fast
Long
Little thought
Out of control pace
Hot or cold
Exercising
ANABOLIC CATABOLIC
17
Whats your path?
But I feel much better after working out catabolically!
Doesnt that mean I should keep doing it?
While it is true that you will feel better immediately after your workout, you might be
doing damage if you keep it up for an extended period of time. The reason you feel
really good right away is the release of adrenaline into your system. This will give you a
burst of energy and warmth but will be followed by a crash a few hours later.
When you work out with a slower and more controlled tempo, your body will feel a slight
lift in energy, which is more sustainable than a burst of energy, and will not be
accompanied by an energy crash later in the day.
You might not be great at identifying how you feel during a workout yet, but look for
some physical signs to determine if you are building up or breaking down:
You should have even color throughout your face and not be pale or blotchy.
You should be sweating from your arm pits, groin and behind your knees. If you are
sweating from just your forehead, this is a sign of being in a catabolic state.
Your Achilles tendon, hands and back of the neck should all be warm. If these areas
are cold, your energy is not properly circulating and you are at greater risk of injury.
Try to maintain slow and controlled breathing. Quick, short breaths send a message of
panic to your system, while breathing more controlled sends a more relaxed message.
If you can achieve:
A clear and colorful complexion
Sweat from multiple locations
Warmth throughout your body
Controlled breathing
You will be building happy hormones throughout your body!!
18
What foods BUILD you up and
What foods BREAK you down
Anabolic vs Catabolic
ANABOLIC
EATING
Foods That BUILD You Up
Organic foods (fresh)
Moderate calories
Adequate protein
Healing fats (saturated/mono)
Moderate carbohydrates
CATABOLIC
EATING
Foods That BREAK You Down
Processed foods (box, can)
Low calorie
Low protein
Bad fats (polyunsaturated)
High carbohydrates
19
Whats your path?
Anabolic Eating
BUILD UP
Seasonal adjustments
Organic foods (fresh)
Moderate calories
Adequate protein
Healing fats
Moderate to low carbohydrates
What does this feel like after eating?
1. No pressure in abdomen (bloating)
2. Balanced temperature
3. Slight energy increase
4. Mental sharpness
5. Emotional control
(For up to three to four hours.)
What does this feel like after eating?
1. Pressure in abdomen
2. Increase in energy the first hour
3. Energy crashes
4. Fatigue and poor concentration
5. Cravings, light headed, dizzy, nauseous
(within one to two hours)
Catabolic Eating
BREAK DOWN
No seasonal adjustments
Processed foods (box, can)
Low calorie
Low protein
Bad fats
High processed carbohydrates
Eating
ANABOLIC CATABOLIC
20
Whats your path?
Anabolic eating is something that is probably very new to you and might take some time
getting used to. The whole premise is to stop the release of stress hormones and
inammation from the foods that we eat.
While many people take this as a given, we rst have to talk about eating REAL FOOD.
Our grocery stores are full of items that we call food but really have no business having
that label attached to them. Items that come in a box are generally not real food. Pre-
made microwave dinners are denitely not food! Real food is something that your great
grandmother would have considered eating when she was a kid, like fruits, vegetables,
eggs, milk, cheese and meats.
Without realizing, many of us are bloated and have negative reactions to food. Only
when we clean up our food choices do we come to nd what it feels like to feel our true
normal. Your current norm may be a bloated and inamed lower abdomen, which you
can see but also feel after eating.
Make sure you are getting enough protein and healing fats (coconut oil, butter, etc) and
try to reduce consumption of starchy carbs (grains, beans, root vegetables, etc). This will
help heal inammation, support a healthy immune and energy system (thyroid) and will
aid in digestion.
You may also notice that anabolic eating relies on eating moderate calories and not low
calories. Too many people try to lose weight quickly by going on crash diets. These have
proven over and over to be unsustainable and can set you up for health issues. Low
calories and low blood sugar is one of the most stressful situations your body can feel.
This is NOT something that you want to put your body through if you are dealing with any
hormonal imbalances or just trying to create an ideal situation to regain your health.
Stick with moderate calories, fresh, and local REAL foods and watch for pressure in your
abdomen after eating.
21
Understanding Health
Now that we have some of the denitions out of the
way, lets dive into how our body really works. This
information will help you better understand some of our
steps to recovery.
In review:
Health and tness are not the same thing
Thin does not necessarily mean healthy
Manage your energy to maintain your health
Stay out of a prolonged catabolic state
22
One easy way to start understanding your body is to compare it
to a car. If you pretend your body is a vehicle, it will help you
understand what is really going on inside.
While you discover what is going on, I challenge you to start
listening to your vehicle as much as you can. It is the only thing
that can truly tell you what works and what does not.
The guidelines and strategies that you will learn in this manual
are just that; guidelines. Only you know what works for your
body and never let any expert tell you otherwise.
Your Vehicle
23
So we have established that your body is your vehicle, but you
probably did not realize that...
Your Vehicle
24
Before we go any further, let's pause to discuss
the thyroid and adrenal glands. Both glands are
extremely important to your health because they
both help with energy production. The thyroid
gland is located in the throat, while your adrenal
glands are located on top of your kidneys.
Ideally these two energy systems work together
to keep your system functioning well and feeling
good.
The thyroid helps the body with energy
processing, hormone communication, and
metabolism. You may have heard of its common
hormones, shortened as T3 and T4. The thyroid
does so much for the body, which makes it
extremely sensitive. Poor health and lifestyle
can cause great damage to your thyroid, which
will then in turn damage your health even further.
The adrenal glands secrete different hormones
throughout your body, most commonly in
response to stress. You may have heard of
adrenaline and cortisol before, which are
nicknamed as your "stress hormones". Most
people are familiar with adrenaline as this is the
hormone that allows mothers to pick a car up off
her child or that allows you to outrun a bear in
the woods. These hormones are extremely
important and useful in certain situations,
however, as we are about to learn, our society
has started to abuse them.
Your Vehicle
25
So lets talk about how exactly you can learn
about how your body should function from a
hybrid car...
We just established that your thyroid is your
battery and your adrenal glands are your gas
tank.
Our body, just like our car, will run most
efciently when relying on the battery for a
majority of the energy and will use the gas for
those needed short bursts. This means that our
thyroid should be sustaining us throughout the
day, with only short bursts from our stress hormones. However, what ends up
happening more often than not, is we get caught up in our ght or ight reex
throughout the day, so we are constantly pressing the accelerator, using our stress
hormones to fuel us rather than our thyroid.
In the short term, this works just ne and you actually feel pretty good; however, in the
long term, relying heavily on adrenaline will cause your battery (thyroid) to shut down.
Now the only energy source you have is your gas tank and you will eventually run out
of gas. This is where we really see a large breakdown of your body.
Key Point
If you drive a hybrid like a race car you can expect it to
breakdown (degenerate) quicker.
Your Vehicle
26
Thyroid Adrenals
Key Point
The more you run on adrenaline over time, your thyroid will shut
down, leaving you with little sustainable energy;
Eventually trying to run on just adrenals will exhaust your gas
tank leaving you on empty;
This will cause your vehicle to slow down and shut down.
Thyroid Adrenals
Your Vehicle
27
Your Vehicle
As you can see, running on our stress hormones can lead to
serious breakdown in our bodies. These stressors can come
from a lot of different sources:
Our job, our marriage, nances, exercise; anything that
causes our body to lose peace or homeostasis.
Our bodies like slow and steady changes and nothing too
drastic. While we might be able to control some stressors,
there are others that are totally out of our control. One to
think about is the change in seasons. These temperature
uctuations, especially when they are drastic, can cause
havoc on our bodies.
For this reason it is very important that we make seasonal
adjustments and make sure our bodies go through gradual
changes.
28
Seasonal Adjustments
So what exactly are these Seasonal Adjustments we keep
talking about?
Basically, it means that as our external environment changes around
us, we must adjust our behaviors.
This mainly concerns those of you who live in a part of the country
that has a change in seasons. If you live in a city that is 75 and sunny
all year round, you may not need these adjustments.
We will only go over the very basics to seasonal adjustments in
this manual, as it can be a very in depth subject
This whole concept is based on
The Law of Energy Conservation:
Energy may neither be created nor destroyed, it is transferred.
How does this affect you?
If your external environment (outside) is 100 degrees, not much will
happen. Energy (heat) in the body will stay in the body because
internal and external temperatures are roughly the same. If your
external environment is 10 degrees, energy (heat) will leave the body
very quickly. You must layer your clothing and change your
movements to reect this seasonal change. People who live in
climates with cold temperatures must conserve energy to avoid
losing heat to the external environment.
29
Seasonal Adjustments Seasonal Adjustments
What does this mean?
The overall concept you should remember about making seasonal adjustments is to
change your mindset with the changing seasons.
Winter is a very catabolic season, therefore anabolic training is a must in order to
stay healthy. This will assist in conserving energy and staying healthy during this
stressful season. Your physical goals for this season are to increase your strength
and build muscle.
Spring is a time that we start to come back to life and slowly get a bounce in our
steps. The key is to start slowly and not try to jump back into intense training too
quickly. If you are going to run, make sure you walk before you run to help prepare
your body.
Summer is the best time of year to go after your weight loss goals. You have the
most energy and are the warmest during this season so take advantage and be
outside in the sun as much as possible. While it is a good season to attack weight
loss, if you are still very stressed you might be better off sticking with anabolic training
to continue to build up.
Fall is the time to year to start switching back to energy conservation mode. The
sooner you start dressing in layers the better adjusted your body will be come winter.
Remember, if you dress in layers your body will not create its own layers.
We will have more information on the seasons in Recovery Step #9 on page 46.
SECTION 3: STEPS TO RECOVERY
31
Recovery Step #1
Evaluate your Motives:
Evaluate your priorities and boundaries
then start a plan to take control of the right health goals!
Don't get stuck in the daily grind and lose focus of your big picture desires. What do
you want for your health and life? Do you wish to have anabolic (positive) health or
catabolic (negative, degenerative) health?
Have you set good boundaries?
Bad Boundaries = a week foundation leading to poor health and a poor quality of
life!
Good Boundaries = A strong foundation leading to good health and a great quality
of life!
Do you have a balance between the different aspects of life?
Volunteerism & Community Outreach
Pace of Life & Time Management
Fun, Creativity & Passion
Friends & Relationships
Faith/Spiritual Life
Health & Energy
Finances
Family
What areas of your life need more boundaries or priority?
Physical? Mental? Emotional/Relational? Spiritual?
32
Recovery Step #2
Assess and Control your Energy through your
Thoughts:
Remember the Law of Conservation of Energy?
Energy is not created or destroyed it is transferred.
Is it possible our brain/mind can be doing damage to our health?
The brain is a tissue, just like muscle and bone.
Negative energy in the mind can be transferred throughout
the body and into our overall health.
We must exercise control of the brain just like we do with the bicep. If you allow
constant thoughts to cross your mind throughout the day it could be likened to doing
bicep curls non stop all day (which is physically exhaustive, whereas constant
thoughts can be mentally exhaustive).
Great Energy = Great Health!
As a man thinketh so he is.Ancient Proverb
33
Recovery Step #2
Interesting fact:
The pancreas and its favorite hormone, insulin,
werecreated specically to regulate blood sugars
levels for thevery reason of protecting the brain.
The mind and body areintricatelyconnected!
What are your thoughts (mental energy) telling you?
34
Recovery Step #3
Assess the Present State of your Hormones
and Health:
What is your current state of health?
Is your system anabolic or catabolic?
Check out our questionnaire on the next page to see where your overall health
falls on the spectrum.
Is your present state of healthANABOLIC?
Meaning growing, generating, building and rebuilding.
Or, is your present state of healthCATABOLIC?
Meaning breaking down, degenerating, slowing or broken down.
Once you know where you're at on the Anabolic-Catabolic health spectrum, you'll
know where to start your health journey.
The more broken down you nd yourself, the more building and healing you'll need
to feel better.
With poor health, our physical age can progress much quicker than our biological
age. Assessing your current health and physical age will give you an idea of how
healed (or unhealed) your system is.
With the knowledge of your physical age, you will know what type of activity
will help you feel and live your very best!
Typically, the younger our biological and physical age, the more energy we have to
expend with catabolic play and exercise. The older our biological and physical
age, the less energy we have to expend, so we must conserve our energy with
anabolic training and lifestyle habits.
(ACUTE ENERGY SURGE)
Stage 1 AdrenaIIne Surge: FIgbt
I Iavc good cncrgy iIrougIoui iIc wIolc day
My lody icncraiurc is nicc and warn
I Iavc good ncnial sIarncss
I Iavc good cnoiional conirol iIrougIoui
iIc day
I Iavc good slin conlcion
I Iavc a sirong sc drivc
I rccovcr quiclly fron worlouis

__ I Iavc an urgc io cai quiclcr or lcss (1}
__ I oficn gci lloaiing aficr caiing (1}
__ I oficn ass gas fron ciiIcr cnd iIrougIoui
iIc day (1}
__ I digcsi fasi and gci randon diarrIca (1}
__ I Iavc nusclc icnsion or acIy" sorcncss (1}
__ I gci Ioi flasIcs iIrougIoui iIc day (1}
__ I Iavc cnoiional ouilursi iIrougIoui iIc
day (1}
__ I Iavc IigIcr llood rcssurc (1}
__ My ncnsirual cyclc is noi rcgular (1}

Stage 2 AdrenaIIne Decrease,
CortIsoI Increase: FIIgbt Mode
__ I ccricncc IigIs and lows in cncrgy
iIrougIoui iIc day (2}
__ I ccricncc IigIs and lows in lody
icncraiurc iIrougIoui iIc day (2}
__ I ccricncing IigIs and lows in ncnial
sIarncss (2}
__ I ccricncc IigIs and lows in cnoiions
iIrougIoui iIc day (2}
__ I fidgci oficn (2}
__ I an fccling norc and norc anious (2}
__ My lody fai Ias incrcascd (2}
__ I fccl wcalcr and norc oui of sIac (2}
__ I Iavc dry slin or llcnisIcs (2}
__ I cravc sugar, caffcinaicd roducis,
or ccrcisc (2}
__ I an gciiing an incrcasc in colds or
allcrgics during scason cIangcs (2}
__ I oficn ccricncc nccl or calf icnsion (2}
__ I Iavc lccn ccricncing norc IcadacIcs (2}
__ I an losing ny vision (2}
__ I Iavc alcr slin ionc and llcnisIcs (2}
__ I an losing ny Iair (2}
__ I gci consiiaicd (2}
__ My Iands and fcci gci cold oficn (2}
__ I Iavc lriiilc nails (2}
Symptoms of PIysical CataboIIsm
Pucc u cIccI I cucI snton tIut ucs to ou 1n 1e pos1 1uo geors. Pucc ou
totu scoc ut tIc Iotton to nd out uIctIc unuIoc o cutuIoc cxccsc s gIt o ou.
__ I an ccricncing an incrcasc of icnsion
in ny lowcr lcg |sIin, calf, AcIillcs| (2}
__ I Iavc a Iard iinc rclaing ai nigIi (2}
__ I oficn walc during iIc nigIi around
2.00 io 3.00 an io cc. (2}
__ I an ccricncing a dcccr acIc" or
sIar ain in sonc lody aris (2}
__ I Iavc low llood sugar (2}
__ I carry cccssivc fai in ny lcgs in con-
arison io oiIcr arcas of ny lody (2}
__ My csirogcn is IigI (2}
__ I Iavc a dccrcascd sc drivc (2}
__ I an gciiing norc caviiics (2}
__ I Iavc uffy lags undcr ny cycs (2}
__ I an gciiing cnlargcd lynI nodcs (2}
__ I an ccricncing ncrvc ain |sIar
sIooiing, ligIicning lilc ain| (2}
__ I ccricncc Scasonal Affccicd Disordcr
|SAD| (2}
__ I Iavc lccn iold I an HyoiIyroid (2}
__ I an ccricncing a rcroduciivc
disordcr (2}
__ My osiurc Ias goiicn worsc (2}

(CHRONIC ENERGY DEFICIENCEY)
Stage 3 AdrenaIIne ExbaustIon:
PbysIcaI Surrender
__ I slcc vcry oorly (3}
__ I gci nigIi swcais (3}
__ I laiilc dcrcssion (3}
__ I sirugglc io losc wcigIi in arcas (3}
__ I nccd io rcsi or a na io gci iIrougI
iIc day (3}
__ My slin is vcry alc, dry (3}
__ I Iavc cIronic joini inflannaiion (3}
__ I Iavc a conncciivc iissuc injury (3}
|nccl, sIouldcr, lacl, cllow, lncc, calf|
__ I Iavc darl circlcs undcr ny cycs,
narrow lony cyc soclcis or jaw linc. (3}
__ I Iavc iIc oosiic...swollcn sacls
undcr ny cycs and swollcn facc (3}
__ I carry cccssivc lclly fai in conarison
io oiIcr arcas of ny lody (3}
__ I an vcry suscciillc io colds and flu
viruscs (3}
__ I an gci allcrgic rcaciions io nany
iIings (3}
__ I an dialciic (3}
__ I Iavc lccn diagnoscd wiiI a CIronic
Dcgcncraiivc Discasc (3}
Anabo||c Calaoo||c
Anabolic Exercise and Eating Recommended
0 125 25 75
The more catabolic you are the greater need it is Ior you to eat and train anabolically to maintain good health.
Total Score _____________
Acute
Chronic
36
Recovery Step #4
Create a Daily Routine:
Why should we have a daily routine?
Without a routine, the body never knows what is coming next, and will
remain unbalanced due to unstable blood sugar.
Why does it matter if our blood sugar is unbalanced?
Unstable blood sugar causes changes to our hormones. Hormones are
messengers that tell the body whether it is stressed or relaxed. When our
body feels stressed long-term, our health will decline.
We need at least 15-20 minutes of personal down time in the morning
before our day startsin orderto be healthy.
See the examples on the next pages of two daily schedules, one set up for
stress and one set up for health! These schedules are based on a 9-5
work schedule, tweak as you need to for your own schedule.
37
Recovery Step #4
Here is a sample routine that will produce
health problems:
7am:
730am:
8am:
9am:
10am:
10am-3pm:
3pm:
6-9:30pm
9:30-1130pm:
2-3am:
7am:
Alarm goes off... really tired or exhausted, hit
snooze for 20 minutes.
Get up quick, scramble to get dressed and
ready for work.
Not hungry, grab coffee to wake up, decide to
eat at work.
Start work feeling rushed and frazzled.
Eat "breakfast" at your desk.
Rush like crazy at work, skip lunch, or eat at
your desk.
Energy CRASH!(Body needs glucose-"sugar")
Scramble to get dinner made, eaten and
projects done.
Exhausted yet mentally supercharged from
adrenaline so need to sit in front of a TV to
relax your mind before bed.
Toss and turn or stay awake. Maybe have to
get up and go to the bathroom.
Same routine... different day.
38
Recovery Step #4
Here is a sample routine that will produce
healthier results:
5am:
6am:
8am:
9am:
930-1130am:
1130-1230pm:
1230-230pm:
230-245pm
245-5pm:
5-530pm:
530-6pm:
6-9pm:
9pm:
5am:
Alarm goes off and you wake excited to have
time to yourself.
Eat a large breakfast and get items prepared
for the day.
Travel to work slowly and with plenty of time to
spare.
Start work.
Focused work that is in less "crisis mode".
Lunch (maybe take a 10-15 minute walk prior to
eating)
Focused work managing your time well.
Take a break, eat a light snack to keep energy
balanced.
Focused work managing your time well.
Travel home, light snack, detox mind from
work, organize home life.
Eat dinner
Miscellaneous chores, prep for tomorrow, relax!
Tired and want to go to sleep.
Wake up refreshed and excited to have time to
yourself!
39
Recovery Step #5
Keep your Blood Sugar Balanced:
Keeping your blood sugar balanced is important because blood sugar
levels will dictate what hormones are released in your body.

Food and movement affect blood sugar
Carbohydrates, like fruits, vegetables and starches, alone will increase
blood sugar and then decrease it shortly after. Proteins alone will
decrease blood sugar. Eating a balanced snack of carbohydrates, protein
AND fat will keep your blood sugar balanced.
Exercise and negative stress can also decrease our blood sugar. When
our blood sugar is balanced, our body feels relaxed and safe. When our
blood sugar is low we can feel tired, irritable, lethargic, have headaches or
feel nauseous. When our blood sugar is high, or spiked, we will feel
"hyper" temporarily, but then eventually crash and feel the symptoms of
low blood sugar.
Key Point
If your body is constantly in ux between high and low blood sugar,
you will begin to see negative health effects.
40
Recovery Step #5
How can you tell if your blood sugar is unstable?
Learn to FEEL it! Unstable blood sugar will feel like a roller coaster.
With higher blood sugar you will feel a resurgence of energy.
With level blood sugar you will have calm energy and emotions.
As your blood sugar drops you will get a sinking feeling in your energy and
emotions, usually in the order of anxiety, apathy, lethargy and nally
depression.
We can use food and movement to CONTROL this roller coaster affect
and feel better! The goal is to keep the changes in blood sugar as
minimal as possible.
The HIGHER the blood sugar rises, the faster and harder it will want to drop.
BALANCE this by slower walking, breathing and eating protein and fat.
The LOWER the blood sugar drops, the worse you will feel. BALANCE this
rst by getting your body temperature up (with more clothing and warmer
baths/showers) and eating carbohydrates (from fruits and vegetables and
NOT processed grains).
41
Recovery Step #5
Balancing Blood Sugar with Food
1. Eat a balance of protein, fat and carbohydrate at each square
meal.
2. Eat breakfast within an hour of waking.
3. Adjust your carbohydrates, proteins and fats based on what you
need during the day. If you need more energy you may need a little
bit more carbohydrates.
4. Timing your food intake with how you feel is key! Learn to use
food as your fuel source!
42
Recovery Step #6
Keep your body temperature balanced:
Keep your body temperature balanced by dressing in layers-
especially in the winter!
If your body temperature is constantly in ux, so are your hormones and
everything else internally. The body will ght to keep a balanced
temperature by increasing adrenaline and destabilizing your blood sugar.
Overtime, this causes a breakdown effect of your tissues and system
overall. Remember, adrenaline is a stress hormone and sends the body a
stressful message.
Jump start your morning (and metabolism) in a natural way!
After waking, take a warm shower until you feel your core temperature heat
up. After stepping out put coconut oil on your skin to conserve heat and
replenish oils lost in the shower. Use base layers under your work clothes
to conserve even more heat (energy), and then wear plenty of outer layers
while outside in the cold. Eat a warm breakfast and drink a warm beverage.
You just revved up your metabolism in a healthy way!
43
Recovery Step #6
How to Regulate your Temperature Safely:
"Eat-Pull-Peel-Move"
1. When you are cold try EATing or drinking something warm (if you
haven't eaten in a while). Then, add layers and move slowly.
2. When too warm, PULL back layers of clothing. Pull sleeves
back, unzip or unbutton your shirt, pull your socks down, or place
your hands in cold water. When too cold, try taller socks, a scarf
around your neck, or a hat.
3. Only PEEL off layers when you have to. Remember, the body
prefers subtle changes in temperature. Extreme changes will
only send "stress" messages to the body.
4. MOVE less or more. If you are hot be more static or move to a
cool spot. If you are cold walk around or near a heat source.
Movement should be your last option.
Remember - heat is energy, and will transfer based on the laws of physics. If your body
temperature is around 98.6 or 98.7 degrees, and your environment is less than that, your
heat (energy) will want to transfer outside of you. Adding external clothing layers to your
body will not only keep you feeling good but also prevent the body from adding its own
layers in the form of adipose tissue (fat around the belly).
44
Recovery Step #7
Use walking to (re)balance your energy:
Walking and breathing are the best tools to
(re)balance hormones ("the message") in your body.
Use 10 minute breaks with controlled walking and breathing to (re)balance
your energy throughout the day. This is especially important if you work or
live in a stressful environment with little fresh air and sun.
The slower you breath and walk the more of an anabolic (building)
message you're sending to your body; thus the faster you breath and walk
the more catabolic (breaking down) message. Use what you need that
given day.
Walking is man's best medicine.
-Hippocrates
Photo by Ange Ward-Brown
45
Recovery Step #8
Try to get an Hour of Sun and
Fresh Air Every Day:
If you can't, get as much bright light as possible, supplement with bio-identical Vitamin D3,
and use air lters. Why?
Sun (or bright light) is very important to our well being.
Darkness stimulates a catabolic breakdown message to the body. This message is very
stressful to our overall health and energy. When we can't get outside, we must get as
much bright (articial) light as possible, to stimulate the same processes that the sun
naturally expresses to our body.
Sun (or bright light) stimulates an anabolic
building message to the body!
Have you ever noticed how you naturally have more energy in the summer? That's no
coincidence. The body feels best in the summer because of the warmer temperatures and
increased daylight hours.
Remember, the sun transfers heat to us and heat is energy!
Simple Suggestion for Articial Lighting
Go to your local building or farm supply store and pick up a chicken brooder lamp with
adjustable clamps (clamp light) and 250 watt light bulb. These usually cost less than $10!
These chicken lamps are great for tricking the body into feeling the effects of the sun,
without actually being outside. Keep one at home, at your work desk, wherever!
46
Recovery Step #9
Workout and Eat According to the Season
and Your Health Needs:
Train with the right exercises based on the season:
Just like nature, our bodies cycle with the seasons. In the fall, a tree loses its leaves and begins to
bring all energy internally (to the trunk) for the winter. We should follow the trend by conserving
energy in our "trunk" too. In summer months, when nature is thriving (leaves grow back), we too
have more energy to expend naturally.
WINTER: Catabolic Season
Nature goes dormant to conserve energy. As humans, we should also switch our mindset to energy
conservation vs. energy expenditure if we want to stay healthy over this stressful (cold and dark)
season.
SPRING: Transition from Catabolic to Anabolic Season
Nature slowly comes back to life, as does the body. The increase in daylight and warmth begins to
activate the hormones differently. It is not coincidental, it is hormonal!
SUMMER: Anabolic Season
Nature thrives and matures. The sun gives nature and the body more energy. We have the most
natural energy to expend during this season.
AUTUMN: Transition from Anabolic to Catabolic Season
Nature begins to slowly prepare for winter by conserving energy. If we gradually conserve energy
by dressing warmer we too will be able to enjoy the beauty of the season.
Note:
If your health is compromised (catabolic), you may need anabolic training year round.
Once your system is healed, you will have an abundance of energy to play and train
catabolically in the summer months.
47
Recovery Step #10
Plan times of focused Rest, Reection and
Celebration!
Work + Rest = Success!
The body builds during rest.
We are designed for celebration.
Again, the more catabolic your health, the more of an anabolic lifestyle you'll need to heal.
This includes rest! We are constantly bombarded with the idea to RUN, RUN, RUN but we
end up literally running ourselves into the ground. If our systems aren't healed, we need
rest. We also need time to relax, celebrate with family and friends and reect. These are
just as important as movement and exercise. If your health is extremely compromised,
these may be even more important than exercise.
Our body is made to protect its vital organs. This is why we gain fat around our mid section
(where the majority of organs sit). The body responds to the primitive nature of feast or
famine. Even though we are eating more now than ever, we are still technically in
famine mode because we are eating low nutrient dense, low calorie, and low quality
(processed) foods!
We only have so much energy in our bodies to get through a day. If we are keeping the
weight off using catabolic foods (low calorie, quality and density) with catabolic training (long
or intensecardiovascular work),we are constantly in breakdown mode. This means
something else is suffering in oursystem because of our weight loss.
48
Recovery Step #10
Plan times of focused Rest, Reection and
Celebration!
Ask yourself,
"Do I have any other symptoms?"
Increasedoccurrence of inammation (sore neck, back, joints, andtendinitis)
Fluctuations in temperature, emotions and mindset
Skin rashes, sensitivities, acne
Poor concentration and coordination
Chronic Fatigue
Anxiety
Decreased immunity
Depression
Decreasing thyroid and/or adrenal gland function
Auto immune disease(s)
Cancer(s)
49
Steps to Recovery
Get healthy to lose weight,
don't lose weight to get healthy!
When is the BEST time for you to train catabolically?
Anabolic Time of Life + Anabolic Season + Catabolic Training
= Positive Weight Loss and Fitness
Typically this is during the summer, when your career and personal life are under
control. This puts the body in an optimal hormonal balance to lose weight and or reach
tness goals.
When is the WORST time to lose weight/train catabolically?
Catabolic Time of Life + Catabolic Season + Catabolic Training/Foods = CATABOLIC
HEALTH!
Typically this is during the winter, combined with a new job/house/ kids/marriage, or
other uncontrollable stress in your life.
You will not feel good with catabolic health.
You will be surviving, not thriving! All tness or weight loss gains will be secondary to
chronicillness and injuries and aren't sustainable.
A sustainable way to lose weight is to prioritize times when you have less to take on in
life, preferably in warmer months, so you have less stress. During these times you can
increase your physical activity and exercise to take off some weight. Aim to cycle your
weight loss workouts every year, so each summer you lose more and more, but don't
lose your positive health/tness gains during the winter months. It is a slower process,
yes, but it is a LASTING process. You will feel better, move better and look better for the
rest of your life.
You deserve good health!
50
Moving forward...
The human body can be a very strong and sustainable vehicle. The
movements, foods and lifestyle we choose will dictate the performance
(health) of our vehicle. When we are stressed, sick or hurting, the body can
adapt and then recover very quickly. When we are chronically stressed,
sick or hurting, we will fatigue our nervous system, hormonal balance and
blood sugar (pushing ourselves "to the limits"). This can only be done for so
long before the body breaks down.
Although this is the "norm" in our society today, it doesn't have to be yours!
You have the opportunity to take your health into your own hands and give
yourself a more sustainable and positive life. We live with a culture that
promotes reliance on catabolic exercise and lifestyle, but by taking action to
understand how the body really works, you've already started to improve
your health. We don't have to settle for poor health, fatigue and illness!
You can feel good!
You have these resources to help you, but you may also nd it helpful to have
a supportive group of people who will be there for you on your journey. Work
through the 10 Recovery Steps as slowly as you need to, remembering that
holistic health is a lifestyle and these new habits will take time to feel normal.
Enjoy your sustainable and lifelong health!
Kane Sivesind
Kane is a Certied Strength and Conditioning Specialist
(CSCS) through the NSCA, whose passion lies with helping
his clients achieve a healthy lifestyle that will leave them
feeling and performing their very best. He treats each
individual separately and addresses their strengths and
weaknesses to make sure they reach their potential. He uses
a holistic approach to assess the whole body and not just the
muscular system to determine what will help make a positive
impact on each client.
Kim Brown
Kim is a health and performance specialist who lives in
Madison, Wisconsin. She works with adults who want to build
strength, balance hormones and blood sugar, and work on
their overall health holistically. Kim also works with
developmental youth athletes, focusing on movement
patterns, strength, injury prevention and performance. Kim is
extremely passionate about holistic health, movement and
cooking. She enjoys traveling, music, strength training, yoga,
and cooking.
51
About the Authors