Run Luau Run

I want you to take a look at a graph.  I know it’s a tired old subject – Obesity in America – it’s a bit outdated (2006), but I want you to take a look.

I don’t know what you see, but I see something that I think we all intuitively know without being told:  once you hit your post-teen years, the likelihood is that you will put on some extra pounds.  In fact, if you are John or Jane Q. Public, there is a 66% probability that you will be overweight or obese with a 50/50 shot of being one or the other.

I know…doom and gloom.

But I want you to look at the chart again.  See what it says about 6 – 19 year old kids?  Out of every 100 kids, the probability is that less than 20 are overweight.  Even better is the recent…

When it comes to fitness and nutrition, if someone is asking for some free advice, I usually recommend trusting one’s instincts and sticking to generally accepted common sense solutions.

The problem is that often, what we perceive as common sense is quite often wrong…completely wrong.

Over the next week or so, I am going to be tackling some of the things that we as a society do because we think it’s common sense – and generally, they are practices that are accepted by society as the “smart thing” to do.  Many of you probably already know most of these things, but you simply may not have put it together.

To be clear, this is not a “the government is hiding things from you” or “Big Pharma is out to get you” type of stuff.  That kind of crap drives me crazy.  These are just simple things we have come to…

I got a phone call this morning from my wife.

“I have something to tell you but it involves a little confession.”

I wasn’t sure what to make of her opening so I simply said, “okaaaay…” and then waited.

“So every morning I’ve been going to Cosi to get my morning coffee.”

“Uh huh.”  Nothing scary there.

“And with my coffee I’ve been getting this little snack.”

“Mm Hmm.”   Ah,  the confession!

“The girl behind the register told me it’s really healthy [sic]; it’s got nuts and berries and honey and…”

“Okay.”  I interrupted while trying to remain completely neutral.  The reason why this was a confession of sorts is that for the last 6 months or so, in an effort to cut costs and eat more healthfully, I’ve been making her her breakfasts, snacks and lunches, with the expectation that what I was sending in with her was all…

In my last post I wrote about our responsibility to our fellow human being to take care of ourselves.  Whether is was drinking more water or parking at the far end of the parking lot or even doing air squats right before dinner, I suggested that there was always something that we could do in our daily lives to push us, nudge us in the direction of better health.

Today I want to write about bacon.

What if I told you that eating 8 slices of bacon every day over the next 20 years would increase your risk of getting colon cancer by 20%?

Scary, yes?  The study linked above doesn’t just include bacon, but cold cut, processed meats.

20%.

Yikes!

Does it make you consider maybe stopping your consumption of bacon?  If you are a vegetarian or vegan does it give you a sense of satisfaction?  Obviously, meats…

I am generally not one who subscribes to the “ancient” healing arts.  Unless there is some scientific basis to it, I generally stay away from unproven methods of increasing one’s health and avoiding illness (see oil pulling).  My view has always been, if the old ways worked so darned well, how come we are living so much longer today?

All that being said, I have to acknowledge my Asian heritage and at the very least contemplate the practices that have survived centuries, if not millennia.

My father is one of, if the THE, premier authorities on Samurai philosophy.  The movie Ghost Dog, starring Forrest Whitaker, is based on one of his books.  Several of his books have been turned into Manga.  Almost all of his books have been translated into countless languages.  On this topic, he is The Man.

Recently he gave me a copy of…

I’m outta time and all I got is 4 minutes, 4 minutes…
I’m outta time and all I got is 4 minutes, 4 minutes…

100 people were surveyed and asked, “what is the number one reason why your don’t exercise?”

If you answered, “Time”, congratulations, you have the top answer.

Guess what?  Not anymore.

You want a shortcut?

You may be out of time, but I am betting that you’ve got 4 minutes every day.  Though you may not “save the world” like Madonna, JT and Timbaland, 4 minutes could  just save your waistline and your heart.

4 minutes?  Ready to sign up?

Not.

So.

Fast.

I’m sorry to say that there are not short cuts.

I know, I just said…

All right!
Stop whatcha doin’
’cause I’m about to ruin
the image and the style that ya used to.

~”The Humpty Dance” by Digital Undergound

You’re exercising regularly.

You’re eating what you’re supposed to.

You’re body composition hasn’t changed a bit.

You’re thinking, why the Hell am I doing this?

You’re wondering, why am I putting myself through all the pain and sweat and smelly socks?

You’re asking yourself, why in the world am I eating like a rabbit?

You’re getting to the point where you want to say, that’s it.  I’m done!  No more of this pointless exercise crap! No more of this diet nonsense.

You know what?

You’re right.

Whatever it is you are doing to improve your health, body composition and performance, if it isn’t working, stop.

But Matt, it works so well for my friend/neighbor/co-worker.

Yes, I get that, but you are not your friend/neighbor/co-worker.  You…

You can quit smoking.

You can quit pharmaceuticals.

You can quit drinking alcohol.

You can quit being a couch potato.

You can quit not running.

You can quit not exercising.

***

Wanna know what you can’t quit?

Eating.

You can’t quit food.

All of the unhealthful habits above, you can quit.  In fact, you can quit them cold turkey.  Sure, there will be withdrawals and aches and pains, but stay the course and you come out on the other side.

What happens if you quit eating?

You die.

This is one of the reasons so many people have a hard time with their weight.  Their addiction is not something that they can just quit, cold turkey or otherwise.  Unfortunately, through a chain of events that may or may not be of their own making, poor eating habits have developed and the physiology, chemistry and physical make up of their bodies…

This week we’ve covered four eating habits that can and should provide you with some very powerful tools towards achieving fat loss in a steady, methodical manner.  Eating more slowly, adding protein dense foods and vegetables with every meal and saving starchy carbs for post workout meals are likely to have a positive impact on your health and body composition.

There is one final habit I would like to add to this series.

Healthy Habit Five:

EAT HEALTHY FATS DAILY

For years we have been told fat is the enemy.  If you want to get skinny, you must go on a low fat/no fat diet.  Grocery stores are packed with low fat versions of everything.  I am sure that there are people out there that are thriving on this type of diet.  I would not be one of them.  Besides, that stuff tastes so…so…so tasteless.

I am here to…