Senior Swingbelly and Skinny Vinny
When I was fresh out of Tech, several Decembers ago,
I went to work at a shipyard in Jacksonville, FL. I was
the new Mechanical Guy in the Quality Department.
They called me 'Skinny Vinny'.
My first-day mentor was the Electrical Guy, John Barker,
a retired Navy Chief. They called him 'Senior Swingbelly'.
We looked like Mutt and Jeff up there on top of the aircraft
carrier, watching the welders (who looked like Hell's Angels--
because half of them actually were! What had I gotten
myself into?)
Anyway, Barker wasn't the only Senior Swingbelly in the
group. Most notable were the Paint Foreman and the
Welding Foreman, who both had a bad case of
'Dunlop's Disease'. In case you haven't had much
medical study, that's when the belly has done-lopped
over the belt.
They used to give each other a hard time, bumping bellies
and trying to decide whose was bigger. It was fun to joke
about it then, but now I realize that a swing-belly, or even
a moderately fat tummy, is a big warning sign that diabetes
is just around the corner.
And that's not a laughing matter.
Most Decembers, folks get upset about the 'X' in X-mas.
But based on the types of foods we're all eating, and the
super-sized bellies we're carrying around, we should
be more concerned about the other X: pre-diabetes, or
Syndrome X.
Syndrome X is loosely defined as having any three of these
health problems: abdominal obesity, high triglycerides,
high blood sugar, high blood pressure, or low HDL (good)
cholesterol.
Abdominal fat makes the body less sensitive to insulin...
or 'insulin-resistant'.
When your body ignores insulin, the sugar can't get into
the cells like it's supposed to, so it stays in the blood.
The pancreas has to make more and more insulin to get
the sugar out of the blood and into the cells.
Combine a worn out pancreas with insulin-resistant cells, and
that leaves too much sugar in the blood...and you've got
diabetes.
And as a bonus, you'll probably get heart disease, too.
The excess insulin tightens your blood vessels,
promotes clotting, increases blood pressure, and restricts
blood flow to the heart. Almost half of heart attack patients
are also diabetic, but didn't know it until they checked into
the hospital.
Nice holiday thoughts, I know.
But it's a serious problem. There are over 20 million
diabetics, and over 40 million pre-diabetics in the US.
So something's got to change.
The quickest way to reduce abdominal fat is exercise. But not
the slog-along-all-day-on-the-stepper type exercise. Not long,
slow distance.
According to the studies, 'High-intensity exercise seems to
preferentially reduce visceral fat'.
Hint: if you're watching TV while you exercise, it probably
ain't high intensity.
The perfect high-intensity workout is interval sprinting,
especially uphill. It doesn't take long--because you can't even
do it that long. You're sweating and huffing and puffing in no
time, even on a 24 degree morning like we had today.
But that's what your body loves--short, intense
bursts. It's easy on your joints and your schedule.
The only trouble is, we've been conditioned to think that
exercise has to be long and boring to be effective. And that's
the only way we know.
So that's why I recommend Coach K's Uphill Fitness Training
Course. It corrects your faulty thinking, takes all the guess-
work out, and gets you fit fast. As the belly shrinks, the sugar
stabilizes, and health returns.
Don't wait 'til it's too late. Get a head start on the New Year
and order your course today
http://www.drvinceonline.com/uphill_fitness.htm
Live like you Mean it (for a long time),
Dr. Vince
PS if you happen to be "exercise-resistant", try fish oil.
Basically, anything you can do to increase the efficiency
of insulin and/or decrease your body's need for it will
improve your health and extend your life. One of the biggest
benefits of fish oil is keeping your cells flexible and receptive
to insulin. Yea! It's not exercise in a bottle, but it's a good
start. Take control of your own health today.
http://www.drvinceonline.com/fishoil.htm
I went to work at a shipyard in Jacksonville, FL. I was
the new Mechanical Guy in the Quality Department.
They called me 'Skinny Vinny'.
My first-day mentor was the Electrical Guy, John Barker,
a retired Navy Chief. They called him 'Senior Swingbelly'.
We looked like Mutt and Jeff up there on top of the aircraft
carrier, watching the welders (who looked like Hell's Angels--
because half of them actually were! What had I gotten
myself into?)
Anyway, Barker wasn't the only Senior Swingbelly in the
group. Most notable were the Paint Foreman and the
Welding Foreman, who both had a bad case of
'Dunlop's Disease'. In case you haven't had much
medical study, that's when the belly has done-lopped
over the belt.
They used to give each other a hard time, bumping bellies
and trying to decide whose was bigger. It was fun to joke
about it then, but now I realize that a swing-belly, or even
a moderately fat tummy, is a big warning sign that diabetes
is just around the corner.
And that's not a laughing matter.
Most Decembers, folks get upset about the 'X' in X-mas.
But based on the types of foods we're all eating, and the
super-sized bellies we're carrying around, we should
be more concerned about the other X: pre-diabetes, or
Syndrome X.
Syndrome X is loosely defined as having any three of these
health problems: abdominal obesity, high triglycerides,
high blood sugar, high blood pressure, or low HDL (good)
cholesterol.
Abdominal fat makes the body less sensitive to insulin...
or 'insulin-resistant'.
When your body ignores insulin, the sugar can't get into
the cells like it's supposed to, so it stays in the blood.
The pancreas has to make more and more insulin to get
the sugar out of the blood and into the cells.
Combine a worn out pancreas with insulin-resistant cells, and
that leaves too much sugar in the blood...and you've got
diabetes.
And as a bonus, you'll probably get heart disease, too.
The excess insulin tightens your blood vessels,
promotes clotting, increases blood pressure, and restricts
blood flow to the heart. Almost half of heart attack patients
are also diabetic, but didn't know it until they checked into
the hospital.
Nice holiday thoughts, I know.
But it's a serious problem. There are over 20 million
diabetics, and over 40 million pre-diabetics in the US.
So something's got to change.
The quickest way to reduce abdominal fat is exercise. But not
the slog-along-all-day-on-the-stepper type exercise. Not long,
slow distance.
According to the studies, 'High-intensity exercise seems to
preferentially reduce visceral fat'.
Hint: if you're watching TV while you exercise, it probably
ain't high intensity.
The perfect high-intensity workout is interval sprinting,
especially uphill. It doesn't take long--because you can't even
do it that long. You're sweating and huffing and puffing in no
time, even on a 24 degree morning like we had today.
But that's what your body loves--short, intense
bursts. It's easy on your joints and your schedule.
The only trouble is, we've been conditioned to think that
exercise has to be long and boring to be effective. And that's
the only way we know.
So that's why I recommend Coach K's Uphill Fitness Training
Course. It corrects your faulty thinking, takes all the guess-
work out, and gets you fit fast. As the belly shrinks, the sugar
stabilizes, and health returns.
Don't wait 'til it's too late. Get a head start on the New Year
and order your course today
http://www.drvinceonline.com/uphill_fitness.htm
Live like you Mean it (for a long time),
Dr. Vince
PS if you happen to be "exercise-resistant", try fish oil.
Basically, anything you can do to increase the efficiency
of insulin and/or decrease your body's need for it will
improve your health and extend your life. One of the biggest
benefits of fish oil is keeping your cells flexible and receptive
to insulin. Yea! It's not exercise in a bottle, but it's a good
start. Take control of your own health today.
http://www.drvinceonline.com/fishoil.htm
posted by Dr. Vince at Friday, December 08, 2006
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