CHANGE YOUR HEALTH & LIFE BY UNDEFRSTANDING METABOLIC HEALTH OR METABOLIC FITNESS

100 years ago, big majority of people would die from infectious diseases. Healthcare, pharmaceutical industry have thankfully put an end to many infectious diseases thanks to vaccinations, scientific advances, and even simple hygiene. Today, however, we have another problem and an epidemic of chronic conditions. 4 in 10 adults today suffer from two chronic conditions and 6 in 10 from one. 85% of senior population have at least one chronic disease, and most have multiple ones. Even children are now being affected by those more than ever. The US spends about 3 trillion dollars on the management of the diseases. And since Covid is such a popular topic these days and an infectious disease, it is worth mentioning that one of the biggest medical journals, the Lancet, admits that this global crisis of chronic diseases and failure of public health to raise awareness of highly preventable risk factors have left populations vulnerable to acute health emergencies such as COVID-19.
 As a health and wellness coach who have also worked in healthcare for few years now and prior to that in the fitness industry, I have witnessed the effects of chronic conditions on the quality of people’s lives first-hand, and the fact that majority of people do not understand where the conditions come from and how we can not only prevent them, but even reverse some by making changes in our lifestyle choices. Moreover, I have realized that a big problem in our society is that people have wrong mindset, lack of knowledge and proper guidance. Everyone, including some doctors, only talks about weight loss, diet, fitness goals, but very few people are interested in metabolic health, and it is the metabolic health that is at the core of the weight issues, and most of the chronic conditions such as diabesity, obesity, heart failure, kidney, or even Alzheimers, dementia, and even certain cancers. A disturbed metabolic function leads to hormonal imbalances, inflammation, oxidative stress and brings on the above problems and conditions. Most people, including my former me, do not understand this concept and focus on the outside approach by just adding on different medications and if younger, approaching their weight issues with improper calories counting and exercise that may backfire. They do not understand the concept of metabolic health or fitness, and as someone with master’s degree in education and 15 years in teaching, understanding the concept is the key. In the case of metabolic health or wellness, it they could change the trajectory of their weight, health and many aspects of people’s lives and being able to see beyond weight issues.
Metabolic health or fitness describes how we generate energy in the body from glucose (blood sugar) mainly, and sometimes from fat, to power every single cell in our body. When these energy producing pathways run smoothly, we are in what is called good metabolic health. Unfortunately, 88% of the American population display at least one biomarker of metabolic dysfunction, and only 1 in 8 people is metabolically healthy. Even those who are thin, and who exercise often have issues in this department. Some of those issues are actually often a result of over-exercising. Amenorrhea or lack of menstruation, fertility issues are often a result of women’s unhealthy relationship with food and exercise. It is thus not only those who are lazy, unmotivated that suffer from poor metabolic health. In fact, it is mostly not laziness and lack of motivation that contributes to the dysfunction, but lack of awareness, knowledge and the environment that enables the behaviors that bring on poor health. That is a whole different post. 
Today, I am bringing awareness to something I personally did not know about years ago when I was able to run marathons in under 4 hours, halves in 1 h 45 min, triathlons, swim 2 miles, ride a bike for 75, do 72 push-ups, climb the Na Pali coast in Hawaii in one day with a 20 pound heavy backpack, and more, and of course my grueling 45-min long MAR’s ( Motivation + Action + Results ) High Intensity Bodyweight Training workouts. I was fit, but not necessarily metabolically fit. I started understanding and learning about the concept of metabolic fitness when being fit as I was, I started realizing that I was wasting a lot of my time on exercise, which only made me want to eat more. My blood work was showing higher than I would want glucose and I was anemic. When I became pregnant with my now 7 – year old, I started reading about toxins, which prompted me to learn about our hormone disruption and how everything in our body is interrelated and how we should address everything holistically and starting at the core. Metabolic health or fitness is the core of:

• Looking and feeling better and aging less better or less
• Lowering risks for chronic conditions, such as diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease, obesity, fatty liver disease, heart disease, stroke, dementia and more, which are brought on by excess glucose in the bloodstream which causes inflammation or oxidative stress and hormone imbalances or glycation that makes everything stick in our body and throw things off.
• Improving our immune system
• Having sustained energy throughout the day 
• Better memory and less brain fog
• Better and stable mood
• less anxiety and depression
• healthy weight
• less wrinkles
• Fertility and sex drive
• And more.

Understanding this concept can literally change your life. If you are young, the sooner you realize it, the healthier you will be. If you are older, you will be able to significantly improve your conditions. It has changed mine, and those I have helped. It can change yours if you overcome the biggest obstacle and undergo mindset shift and from addressing the outside and weight loss goal, and unhealthy ways to go about it with focus on calorie restrictions instead of nourishing your body and mind and exercising for health and not for vanity. The sooner you realize you are in poor metabolic health or on the way to be, the better, but it is never too late. If you suffer from brain fog, memory loss, energy slumps, mood swings, sleep issues, skin health, get hungry all the time, get headaches, you should address your metabolic health. If you have fertility issues, are overweight or obese, already have chronic conditions, such as diabetes, high blood pressure, high triglycerides, LDL, you should speak to your doctor and be under your doctor’s care, but also understand metabolic health and try to adopt a lifestyle that can help. By doing so, you will be able to prevent many conditions that are a result of genetics, but also your own personal choices.
Adopt a holistic approach to better metabolic health/fitness, so you can live healthier longer and feeling and looking better by: 
 -making right nutrition choices (not counting calories)                                                           
 -proper exercise (that will help your hormones)                                                                     
 -getting enough quality sleep                                                         
- learning how to manage stress better                                                                                     
-avoiding toxins that disrupt metabolic function by using healthy skincare (Dermattude ), consuming organic non GMO and without pesticides non processed foods, as well as paying attention to cleaning products).
Sounds easy, but only 6% of the US population eats and sleeps well, exercises for health, and does not smoke nor drinks. We all can make healthier and more educated choices.
If you would like to work with me or any other coaches who understand metabolic health, email us at [email protected] or CONTACT US for a free consultation. 
Yours in health and metabolic fitness,
 Marta or MAR ( Motivation + Action + Results).