…To be Happy. Wealthy. Wise.

Guest post by Gunnar Espedal. 

Allow me to be a little personal.

When I was a teenager at school I missed out in sport. This annoyed me so much that I decided to do something about it. I started training and saw my body be transformed from a chubby and shy boy, to become one of the schools top track and field athletes.

Medals. Recognition. Growing self esteem.

What triggered me? Obviously I wasn’t concerned with the health aspect of exercise at the time. The closest to a well meaning health command we received from our stern but charming mother at home: “Drink your milk! And don’t forget the cod liver oil.” The latter, my little brother and I hated as the oil had a tendency to greet us across the first half of our school day! Burp! Later I learnt that both milk and cod liver oil were dubious, if not downright bad health advice and I certainly dont recommended it now. But bless your soul Mum, you did your best!

As a student of physiotherapist in England in the early seventies, the years of coal strike and calamity, I studied hard and diligently and joined in the fun on the weekends. Activities and exercise consisted of just walking and some badminton now and again. Not enough to keep in a healthy shape. Add to that beans on toast, soup and the odd egg or two for a treat, you can easily see that I did not have a healthy diet or lifestyle come to that matter.

So one day looking at myself in the mirror, dejected and feeling sorry for myself, in my attic flat, observing my now increasing waist – could it possibly have been all the beer? –  and my bulging ‘love handles’. Dread and horror!

Time to change for good and for MY good

One more time, I decided it was time to change. Now I knew a thing or two about exercise and nutrition.By this time I had a girlfriend , a lovely lass from Yorkshire, and a fellow student, whom I later married. I bonded well with her family and had the great pleasure to be served delicious and nutritious home made cooked meals  as Christine, my mother-in law to be was most appalled when she came around to inspect my living quarters after I was in bed with a fever and toncillitis. “Molds on your wall, Gunnar! That is not healthy”. Nursed through a bout of illness by tender, love and care, I recovered quickly and resumed my training. The whole body transformation was there to be seen and felt.

My studies and exams went like a breeze and long working hours were awarded by the college.

So here comes my question to you: What triggered me into taking radical action to affect a whole life transformation?

In one word, and this said retrospectively, of course: Vanity!

Karl Lagerfeld, the fashion/perfume guy you know from the media, once said:

“Vanity is the healthiest thing in life!” Ha, would you believe It!

Once we are onto famous people talking wisely about what triggered me into becoming a healthier, wiser and much happier version of myself, an old familiar and sometimes peculiar person, whom I write about in my book New Lease of Life, appears:

The famous French romantic writer Victor Hugo said: “Stupidity talks, vanity acts!”

The Benefits of Regular Exercise on all areas of your life

If you are not familiar with the great benefits of regular exercise, and how it affects the total sum of who you are, how you feel and interact with other people, and bottom line of how you perform both at home and at work, here is a short version:

Regular exercise is good as part of a holistic program. Combine that with high nutrient dense foods and avoidance of sugar in all its forms (deadly and dangerous).

Still, after nearly five decades in many fields of health, healing, coaching and more, it still puzzles me how little valuable knowledge has been taken in by athletes when it comes to food and the preparation of these healthy ingredients of life.

Not least to say THE most important nutrient of all: WATER! The right kind of understanding of vital, structured water may save your life and energize you like nothing else on earth. And on top of that continually detoxify your body. Plus a whole lot more.

It is sad to say, Olympic athletes gobble frozen pizza en masse and expect top performance. Your body doesn’t work that way.

How can you expect high performance from a racing car if you put low octane fuel in the petrol tank?

Regular exercise will positively affect all health conditions you may encounter. Your blood pressure, diabetes risk, depression, circulatory problems etc will respond favorably when up and about, doing exercise. From walking to wogging to jogging to running. And racing, like me , if you like.

Psychological/emotional: Need to blow off steam? Uplift your mood? The feeling after exercise, where all your feel-good hormones dance in harmony, is positively addictive. Welcome endorphins,encephalins, neuro-trophins. The latter being very important for learning, memory, higher thinking and survival, especially so for the Hippocampus area of the brain, according to scientists at the University of British Columbia.

Energy boosting. This effect is many-fold increased when you drink structured, vital water before and after your workout. Unlike any kind of water it restores the internal fluid balance very quickly, detoxing and increasing your energy level, owing to the documented fact that the water molecules are smaller and can easily penetrate the cell walls and reach the energy generators in every cells, your mitochondria.

Better sleep: As regular exercise is a great de-stressor in life, it will also helps balance your hormones which are responsible for your sleeping rhythm.

Exercise should be fun and self-motivating! Once you have left behind the couch life and crossed the door sill, you are on a fabulous journey. Pat yourself on your shoulder and say: Well done and welcome to the NEW ME!  Be gentle on yourself and go easy on yourself.

When I first started out running, it all started out with that first step! I have now calculated that I have run a total of one and a half way around equator. Many marathons later, including the London and Berlin marathon with our oldest daughter Louisa, ‘Lulu’ in 2003 eclipsed them all in experience levels, when we finished hand-in-hand, crossing the finishing line together, both crying and hugging. Embracing – an emotional moment in time.

All regular exercise should be accompanied with an eye on vital, structured water and mineral and vitamins supplement. And not like Jim Fixx, who is credited with initiating the running revolution, who did not take any supplements, thinking that his running made  him immune to ailments. At 53 he “kicked the bucket” as he collapsed at the age of 53, of multiple cardiomyopathy due to a selenium deficiency.

For some, this is the cherry on the cake: Regular exercise plus vital water, nutrition and supplements, will put new sparks in your sex life! Research has shown increased arousal and libido , at least for women, after regular exercise. A great hormone balancing agent and harmonizer. A happy wife is a happy life and who has not experienced the after glow coming on as you step out of the shower, all relaxed and excited. Peak performance!

 

Get started today on the road to a much happier, healthier life.

A journey of 10000 miles always begins with the first step. (Chinese Proverb)

Therapeutically Yours,

Gunnar Espedal

NEW BOOK COMING SOON: “New Lease of Life” – read more about it here:

http://gunnarespedal.com/new-lease-of-life/

Read more of Gunnar’s blog posts here: http://gunnarespedal.com/blog/

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