It seems recently I am having conversations more often with people on this topic related to be being in our late 40’s and 50’s. As we enter this age it becomes more commonplace to see our friends, relatives and colleagues on many medications or ending up in the hospital due to some chronic illness, or even dying of sudden death.

The general mindset seems to be , "we just need to be thankful and grateful for every day we have”, while I agree with that, I do believe we are missing the bigger picture here. Being middle age does not have to mean a life of chronic degenerative diseases and living on medications.

Do We Really Have Our Priorities in Order?

As a 52 year old male myself, I am directing this blog post more towards other guys my age (and yes ladies, that's YOUR man I am referring to here) as I know we guys need a serious Wake Up Call! I've had mine!

Generally speaking, we seem to take more care, investment and effort into maintaining our own cars, our yards, and even our pets than we do our own bodies.

We as guys just seem to be wandering through Life, ignoring the signs your body is telling us...just having fun doing what it is that we guys do and just being grateful along the way for every new day we get, or maybe not.

Time to Get Serious, Time For Questions

Until you begin to honestly answer some serious questions about your body and your overall health, you will never truly find ultimate health freedom...and yes, you can remain grateful until that day comes, sadly it might sooner than later.

What Questions Do We Need to Answer?

I have put together some of the questions I have had to address in my journey to health that I believe every middle aged person MUST consider and address for themselves. I am not trying to complicate things here, there is help not far away.

We all need to think about, understand and build a roadmap to address the questions. We cannot take any of them in isolation or think there is some magic pill or potion available that we can swallow that will address them all at once. It takes work...but it is 100% possible and well worth the effort. I am living proof!

If you choose to ignore them, than yes, you can just remain grateful for every day you wake up and your body has given you one more day, despite ignorance on what is truly needed for it to operate effectively.

Here Are The Questions!

Ask yourself, can you truly and honestly give a pinpointed and documented answer to these questions as it relates to your own body?

1. How often each week are you doing HIT cardio exercise?
2. How often each week are you doing strength training exercise?
3. How often are you stretching and doing flexibility exercises?
4. What is your % of body fat right now?
5. What is your ideal goal weight?
6. How much rest do you get on a daily basis?
7. When you do exercise what do you consume immediately afterwards, that allows your body to recover? Seriously...I'm not talking about a cold beer after a game of pickup hockey!
8. How much clean filtered water do you drink on a daily basis?
9. What is your bodies optimal requirement for bioavailable protein on a daily basis?
10. How many Carbohydrates and how much Fats should you and do you consume daily, and what are the healthy sources?
11. How much Fiber should you and do you consumer on a daily basis?
12. How often are your bowel movements and are they healthy movements?
13. Is your body working overtime producing metabolic enzymes in order to breakdown and process the foods you eat?
14. Are you keeping your bowel track healthy with probiotics?
15. Are you carrying visceral fat around your waist and organs?
16. Do you understand the correlation between visceral fat and estrogen dominance?
17. What is your Progesterone/Estrogen Ratio?
18. What is your level of Testosterone?
19. What is your Cortisol levels (stress hormone) throughout the day?
20. How many times do you have sex in a month?
21. How much fatigue do you have during mid-day?
22. How many aches and pains, and how much stiffness do you have every morning?
23. How often do you experience chest pains or indigestion?
24. How is your concentration level?
25. How many colds or flu's do you get in a year?
26. How many work days do you miss due to colds or flu's in a year?
27. How many pant sizes did you go up in the last 10 years?
28. How bad do you want to see Friday...on Monday morning?
29. What Happens When You Answer and Apply Solutions These Questions
30. We really can accomplish anything with the right guidance, accountability, roadmap and support. We can even set our biological clocks back decades if we desire, measured through our blood chemistry.

Sharing My Personal Journey

I was recently interviewed on an international conference call where I shared some of my personal journey. Inside this journey, I addressed all these questions for my body. Here's a short clip that you might find helpful and inspiring.

This article was updated from the originally published article on Doug's LinkedIn, dated January 5, 2016