We are aiming to reach an ideal in our quest for lifetime fitness. We will need all the help we can get, and should use every resource at our disposal. We have seen and considered the different components that must be included to reach this ideal. We can combine all of the tools - diet, weight control, exercise, supplements, intimacy and mental attitude - to achieve our goal of attaining and maintaining optimum health and lifetime fitness.

Optimal health is represented by a feeling of being on top of things. All of the right moves have been made, the right habits have been formed, the right foods are faithfully eaten, the exercise regimen is followed without fail, the desired supplements are included, and the relationships could not be better. You know you have done it right, so there is no nagging concern about what you might have done. You have done your best.

Now enjoy it. Take a moment to contemplate that you have done what you can with your chronological age, and you have kept your physical age well below your actual number of years on this earth. Relish the fact that few people do this. Some do parts of it, and some do most or all of it for a while, but you have done it all for the long run. Be proud of yourself and enjoy it.

For more information see Optimal Health Strategies.

We know how many types and brands of nutritional supplements are available. We are continuously bombarded with product offerings, many of which make amazing or questionable claims. How do we sort through these pitches? What are the standards we will use to determine whether even to give a product a second look, much less buy it for a trial?

These are some criteria we will use in evaluating product offerings. First, is the product pharmaceutical grade? Anyone or any company can make and offer nutritional supplements. The FDA does not review or evaluate product claims. A few nutritional supplement companies offer pharmaceutical grade products. Most do not. In our evaluation, a company that offers pharaceutical grade products gets the bid. It suggests reliability and going beyond what is required.

Second, what kind of testimonials does the company offer? Are the endorsers obviously paid by the company? Do the endorsers have any credentials? Or are they simply anonomous buyers of the products? If the company has endorsers with credentials, and those credentials cause us to see the endorser as credible and impartial, then we will rely on an endorsement. Otherwise we will disregard the endorsement.

What is the manufacturer’s history as a company? Is this a company with a clean history? Or has the company been through some legal or customer relations scrapes? We will find out what we can about the company and its history.

For a listing and ranking of nutritional supplement products and companies, see Top 10 Nutritional Supplements.

We all notice those people who seem to actually glow with fitness. They are lean, lithe and alert. In their middle age or senior years, they look younger than their ages, frequently many years younger. People who meet them often comment on their obvious fitness and good health. They seem to radiate energy, vitality and sex appeal.

Where does it come from? How are these people seemingly so blessed? What produces these desirable, dreamed of, sought after phenomena? How is it these people have such good fortune? What do they do to deserve such admiration from those who meet them?

There are a number of factors that may contribute to “the glow.” These special people are likely to be active, engaged in projects, busy with jobs. They may follow regular exercise programs. They may care about and select with firmness the foods they eat and the ones they reject. They almost certainly avoid the death wish habits of smoking and of drinking to excess. They are usually pleasant, good-natured, a joy to spend time with.

There is one thing these remarkable people have in common. It is a mental attitude that lifts them up and does the same for all around them. They see the world in positive terms. They believe in the basic goodness of people and, as if by magic, they are seldom disappointed. They have an inner peace that comes from knowing they are on the right path, that things will go well and will turn out successfully and satisfactorily. They have a confidence arising from their mental attitude that produces the glow of fitness.

The most important ingredient in one’s attaining and maintaining lifetime fitness is that person’s mental attitude. It is true everywhere else, and it will be true here, that we can do what we believe we can do. If we approach this challenge with the feeling that there is no alternative except success, then we will succeed. It takes only stating the goal, committing to that goal and persevering without fail to insure the effort’s success.

The realization of the goal to achieve lifetime fitness will come in small increments. It depends on following our plan every day, one step at a time, day after day. It depends on forming habits that are designed to keep us on track and by repitition over a period of time to get us where we want to be. If we form the habits, and if we stick to them faithfully, we will inevitably progress until we reach our destination.

It is best to make a project of maintaining a positive attitude. It is so important, so fundamental to success in carrying out a long-term project like this, that it deserves special attention. Think only positive thoughts, and get any negative thoughts out of your mind as soon as they appear. Associate only with positive people. Pick only friends who lift you up, and avoid those who bring you down.

We get inspiration from seeing success. A look at a person exuding fitness, going through his or her workout routine, lifts us up and makes us want to do more to reach a fitness lifestyle. See and remember those images, and use them to inspire yourself. You will find that, as you are attracted to positive, goal-oriented people, those same people will be attracted to you. These experiences will help you stay on the right track. For more information, see Positive Attitude Factors.

Resistance training may be used to build muscle, lose weight, increase strength or to tone. Depending on the objective, one’s program should be tailored to achieve the desired result.  Resistance training can fit easily into any fitness program, with the details worked out to fit in and facilitate reaching the program goals.

What’s in it for me? Why should I make such great effort to get my heart rate and breathing increased? And why should I do this day in and day out? What am I wanting from this program which asks for such a commitment from me?

It is all about the circulatory system and respiratory system.  These systems are the sources of many of the most serious illnesses and diseases resulting in shortening of lives and impairing the quality of lives.  By taking action to maintain or improve these systems, better fitness and health are sure to follow.  An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

Aerobic exercise is the best activity for improving the fitness and health of the circulatory and respiratory systems.  By planning and following a regular aerobic exercise program, one is taking the most effective direct action known to improve health and avoid illness.  Use this valuable tool to your advantage.

When a person is fit and healthy, it is obvious to all around that person. He or she gives off a striking appearance of confidence that originates with those physical and mental attributes of the fitness lifestyle.

130 million Americans, almost two-thirds of the population, are overweight. Obesity’s role in shortening lives and increasing vulnerability to illness and disease is documented incessantly. Every week we read of new medical tests which prove increased harm to the body from the effects of excessive weight. The trend is toward increase of this medical and social problem, not toward correction of it.

Most overweight people want to change their condition. They want to lose weight and keep excess weight off forever. They want to be healthy, and they want to be seen as healthy. Their desire is the right starting point to do something to improve themselves. Unfortunately, the greatest problem these people face is finding an effective way to turn their desire into action.

We are going to concentrate here on the tools available to help those of us who want to lose weight. We are not going to reveal any miracle breakthroughs. We do not think that is where relief from this problem will be found. Rather, we are going to look for the answers in sound medical and scientific knowledge that is readily available. We are going to focus on incorporating sound medical and scientific knowledge into action plans and programs.

We are looking for plans and programs that have four essential features. First, they must allow for a normal lifestyle, one that does not require its users to enter into completely unfamiliar daily routines. Second, they must allow for eating some familiar and nutricious foods, while eliminating the foods that so corrupt our goals of rebuilding healthy bodies. Third, they must, if adhered to, cause our bodies to shed their excess weight in a timely manner. And fourth, they must include tasty and desirable meals with foods that will control weight over the long term without making the users feel food-deprived.

Such plans and programs exist. For rankings and descriptions, go to Top 10 Weight Loss List.