Secrets to Summer Goal Success: My Plan to Tackle the Inca Trail

May 1, 2017 | Acupuncture, Fitness, Functional Medicine, Healthy Eating, Pain Relief, Traditional Chinese Medicine, Treatment Plan, Weight Loss, Wellness

By: Janine Jozwiak

Summer is around the corner and many of us have big plans. I know I do! Does your summer bucket list include a desire to lose weight or feel better on an upcoming trip? Perhaps you have a big athletic feat you’d like to accomplish or you just need more energy to get through all the events you have planned this season? Many of us just need a nudge to get us in the mindset of thinking about our health in terms of OPTIMIZATION and not just basic functioning. While much of my work is dedicated to helping clients “feel better,” I am equally rewarded when I can take a relatively healthy person and help steer them toward the little details that will make a huge impact on their ability to perform optimally in life and in sport.

Unfortunately, most people come in to see me when they are sick or in pain. That pain is often the end of a long sickness road indicating that the body has already broken down so much that pain is the overarching sensation. Prior symptoms may have been digestive disorders, poor sleep, low energy, etc. Sometimes the symptoms are ultra-subtle; sometimes they come and go. My first goal is to get clients out of pain and to repair the body so that it can return to proper functioning. But it can be difficult to work on bigger, more positive goals when you’ve been riding the sick train for too long. That’s why I advocate for being proactive in your health and setting overarching goals that get you excited to wake up in the morning.

Sometimes we get so caught up in the day-to-day operations of our lives that we forget to actively and consciously work toward something with real intention. We wait until we are sick or symptomatic to get help, rather than proactively optimizing our body’s health through preventative and positive actions. Instead of letting summer sneak up on you, I wanted to take the opportunity this month to remind my clients of how I can help you reframe your notion of optimum health so you can conquer your next goal like a pro.

I’ll take myself as an example and walk you through some of the things I’m doing this month to prepare for one of my biggest goals to date: hiking the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu. I’ve treated myself like any other client of mine and have committed to participating in many of the treatment services we offer at Nature’s Balance.

Already, in preparation for the trip, I’ve done our Purium 10-Day Transformation and lost 5 pounds in 10 days. I feel amazing and have achieved personal bests two weeks in a row with my weight training! I don’t just want to hike Machu Picchu – I want to have a GREAT experience doing it. I want to feel alive and in the moment up there. I don’t want to be huffing and puffing, so I’m thinking ahead and getting my body in balance early.

Here’s a little recap of the other things I’m doing to prepare. Try some or all as you prepare for your best summer yet! Give us a call if you have any questions about how we can help you implement an action plan that will amplify your health and at the same time help you achieve your biggest dreams.

  • MINDSET

    • Documenting my goals and devising a plan of action.
    • Entering my plan into my calendar so it becomes a part of my day & gives me reminders.
    • Daily mental imaging and meditation:
      • I imagine effortlessly running up the trail to the highest point of hike, 13,779 ft without even being winded!
      • I feel the sun on my head and envision being surrounding by the Andes mountain range and all their beauty.
      • I image reaching the summit where I can finally see the Lost City of the Incas.
  • NUTRITION

    • Purium 10-Day Transformation

      I started the Purium 10-Day Transformation to improve the functioning of my cells. Touted as a weight loss transformation, the supplement set is also highly beneficial for athletes and those looking to build up their nutritional foundation. I like the Super Meal shake because it is a whole food (aka: real food) shake that gets absorbed quickly and easily. In addition, it contains a beautiful array of body-balancing and supportive superfoods. Spirulina, a nitric oxide-based blue green algae, is nutrient and energy-dense, as well as contains a nearly complete array of amino acids and is ideal for those working out hard. Besides providing energy and focus, spirulina helps to rebalance blood pressure & cholesterol. It is the most protein-dense food by weight (71%, compared to chicken, which is only 30% protein by weight). The Purium 10-Day Transformation and the new version specifically for athletes is also loaded with:

      • Chlorophyll (Blood-builder)
      • Zeaxanthin (#1 nutrient for eye health)
      • Magnesium (Responsible for over 325 chemical processes in the body and our society’s #1 mineral deficiency)
      • Phycocyanin (Blue pigment that stimulates the production of stem cells)
      • Chlorella (for recovery & GI health; pulls out toxins & restores damaged DNA. Considered a ‘fountain of youth.’)
  • Clean Eating Every Day

    Clean eating is eating as close to nature as possible. The book Deep Nutrition is an excellent book that not only explains why your genes require good solid nutrition or what the author calls “the Human Diet,” but also what that means and gives suggestions on how to incorporate it into your life.

  • Supplements: Medicinal Mushrooms

    Chaga, cordyceps and reishi are among the perfect supplements for long endurance endeavors and are key in keeping the body in balance at high altitudes. Reishi, in particular, is in the top 3 herbs in the Chinese medicinal system. You can add medicinal mushrooms to a hot tea, use in a tonic, or make a tea yourself by steeping the mushrooms in water. Medicinal mushrooms are:

    • Immuno modulators – They boost your immune system up or calm it down as needed.
    • They increase oxygenation of cells and increase insulin sensitivity. As my endeavor gets closer I will start incorporating cordyceps into my diet for increased oxygenation of the blood.
    • Nature’s Balance carries the best medicinal mushroom supplements money can buy. The best extraction of the mushrooms is dual from alcohol and hot water in order to get all the good stuff out of the mushroom. I love incorporating these superfoods into my diet using Mushroom Hot Cacao with Cordyceps, or Organo Gold Coffee. Be sure to ask us about the power of medicinal mushrooms at your next visit. We carry both OrganoGold and Four Sigmatic here in the office.
  • Supplements: Adaptogenic Herbs

    Adaptogenic Herbs do exactly what the name implies: They adapt to the signals your body is sending. They bring the body back into balance and are great for big goals like tackling Machu Picchu. Nature’s Balance carries them all and can help you identify which ones are right for you. For example:

    • Rhodiola, eleuthero, cordyceps and American ginseng can help people get motivated with training when they are becoming burnt out and fatigued. They are very performance-enhancing.
    • Increase VO2 max and energy delivery with rhodiola, eleuthero and schisandra to push the fatigue factor back in all endurance events.
    • Cordyceps, mushrooms and eleuthero can easily be added into bone broth so you can get all the healing benefits from bone broth as well as the adaptogenic properties from the medicinal mushrooms.
    • Rhodiola is great for an acute boost. A short-acting adaptogen, it can be timed with your training/event to be very performance-enhancing. It helps you to not overreact to stress in the short term and keeps the adrenal hormones in check. On a longer-term basis it promotes healthy balanced adrenal hormone functions. It pushes the fatigue factor back, improves muscle oxygenation and oxygen delivery.
  • RECOVERY

    • Acupuncture – Regular acupuncture can stimulate blood flow and bring balance to the body. Great for pain management, but also preventatively to ensure all the body’s systems are working well together.
    • Sleep Tracking with the Oura Ring. Recovery is important and if you’re not sleeping well, you may be at a sincere disadvantage in trying to achieve your goals.
    • Heart Rate Variability (HRV) – Tracking my body’s status daily using a Heart Rate Variability (HRV) app will ensure that I am not breaking down too much and that my sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems are in balance. We can educate you about the benefits of HRV at your session.
    • Bioimpedance Analysis (BIA) – Bioimpedance measures how fast a signal goes through the body and how much water is inside versus outside of the cells. We want to see a 60/40 balance there to indicate whether the body is in the process of building up or tearing down. Not just for body composition, BIA can be a great indicator of your body’s current state so you know if you’re being too hard on yourself or if you can push a little harder.
    • Wim Hof Breath Holds, or following the high altitude training tips found in this book.
    • Full Spectrum Sauna at least 1 time per week. I hit the sauna at Nature’s Balance regularly. Here’s some of the biggest reasons why.Infrared Sauna Therapy
  • TRAINING

    • Weight Training
    • HIIT training or Tabata’s (https://gb.tabataofficial.com/the-science) –The book The One-Minute Workout is a great book, written by a physiology researcher that did a great deal of research on the value of HIIT training. In the book, he describes what HIIT training is and he shows you many ways you can incorporate it into your daily exercise program.  Remember, short intense workouts win the race!
    • Treadmill Walking (20° incline to simulate the hike)
    • Training with an elevation mask or doing breath holds to help my body become acclimated to much lower oxygen levels.

Now that may seem like a lot…But when facing a big challenge, sometimes you need to drink from a fire hose before you can drink from a tea cup! Hopefully my example makes it clear that there’s so much we can do to optimize the body for any challenge. Your summer plans may or may not be as intense as hiking the Inca Trail, but nevertheless, a proactive approach can mean the difference between simply surviving a challenge versus thriving in it.

What do your summer plans entail? Let us know how we can help. Throughout the month of May, we’re offering a FREE Bioimpedence Analysis (BIA) to measure your body’s composition and preparedness for a challenge. It’s a great baseline measurement that will help get you started on the right track. Give us a call to schedule your complimentary session at (815) 788-8383.

Join Our QiMail Newsletter

In the ancient wisdom of Chinese Medicine, Qi is vital force & energy flow. Give your’s a boost with our free ‘QiMail’ wellness newsletter! Subscribers get the latest sales and special events from Nature’s Balance, plus useful health and wellness advice.