Author: Jim McFarland

Publisher: iUniverse

Published: 2005-08

Total Pages: 292

ISBN-13: 0595354963

Do or Die is designed exclusively to help baby-boomer men restore health, vitality, happiness, and longevity through fitness, faith, and food. Do or Die explains how to get out of denial and discover the inspiration and willpower to create life-changing renewal and a healthy lifestyle. Do or Die reviews seven midlife chronic conditions that reduce life expectancy and life quality. Author Jim McFarland calls these "pathways to middle-aged male destruction." Based on his personal experiences and years of extensive research, Do or Die offers numerous strategies and ideas for exercise, weight management, nutrition, and life balance. McFarland's advice will help you: Start defeating the vicious grip of denial Recognize how to rebuild your self-esteem Understand how to lose weight Learn how good nutrition and exercise will help lower your cholesterol and your risk of type two diabetes and heart disease Understand how to take responsibility for your health Learn how to avoid injuries when exercising Discover the importance of using a heart rate monitor for all fitness training Do or Die will guide you in writing a personal renewal plan, and it will also help you learn how to create and enjoy balance in your life. Take the first step towards better health today! With his health declining, McFarland took control and turned his life around. At 52, the author was what has become your Standard American Male-obese, sedentary, hypertensive and in deep denial-when his doctor reported that he was a prime candidate for type-two diabetes. The good news is that he decided to do something about it. In frank language, he discusses his renewal strategy and the routines and behaviors for rebuilding his physical and mental health, finding balance and peace in the process. First he had to own up to his rotten condition, his blubber and sloth, and become conversant with his body's cardiovascular needs, his metabolism, what comprises a healthy diet and his need for physical activity. Thus began his education in cholesterol, stress, midlife depression, the body mass index, blood analysis, high blood sugar and a host of other subjects-all of which he manages to convey in clarity and modest depth, despite his lack of professional training. He endeavored to use common sense in his eating and exercise, gradually creating a life script comprised of the seven Fs: Fitness (he provides a detailed, gradual program), Finding what is important in your life, having Faith in what you believe (discovering some spiritual support), eating the right Foods, time with Family, Friendships and having Fun. He consistently stresses the elemental need for self-respect; without it, he says, you won't have the will to embark on what amounts to a complete lifestyle change. A helpful if arduous map for living a better life that certainly beats the alternative: giving up and dying. -Kirkus Discoveries