You gotta eat.
I thought I'd share my thoughts on diet. I am very passionate about health. No, I don't mean militant exercise and draconian, restrictive food consumption. I’m talking about living as long as we’re built to due to the intentional development of positive habits and lifestyle without degrading the quality of life we live everyday.
Basic Philosophy
I’ll start with the overall philosophy, since it is so simple, and get up on my soap box and start a-hollering…
Moderation in all things. Meet basic requirements based on your personal situation. Limit known hazards. Achieve and maintain balance. Consider the whole picture, address the smallest details. Chose disciplines that you enjoy. Work within your means.
The last part of this philosophy is the most important and is a quote from someone who I sincerely miss, a good friend who showed me all I needed to know to do anything I want to do. His name was George Hydor and he always parted ways by saying, “It's a great day to get better!” Never think you can’t succeed and when you do, always know you can still improve. Attitude will carry you further than genetics, experience, connections, money or any crackpot MD who comes up with a fad.
Expansion
That is pretty vague, isn’t it. Think about this mentality with regards to exercise. Don’t work out so much that you have no time to live. Get at least enough exercise to raise your heart rate three times per week. Don’t overdue too much knee compressing, jarring activity or take supplements which aren’t good for the rest of your health. Compliment a high intensity aerobic workout with an anaerobic, muscle straining workout and throw in something that addresses flexibility and range of motion. Take a couple days off each week. Set lofty body goals but only do what is reasonable each day. Make it fun.
Now apply that to diet. You can create a very healthy diet with average knowledge based on your own experience and a little light reading. Frankly, I don’t know what I need vitamin E for but I take a vitamin supplement that makes sure I get what vitamins and minerals are not in my food.
I have been an opponent of the “Atkins Diet” for some time. I have reconsidered.
On one hand, it violates many of the above mentioned principles stated above. It does not practice moderation but elimination (carbs) and excess (fat, red meat, dairy). There is no balance. There is no consideration to overall nutrition but only focuses on weight.
On the other hand, it is something that people are willing and able to do. When addressing overall health, and you are excessively overweight, there is no point in taking fish-oil supplements followed with a Big Mac. Doing flexibility training is helpful won’t help you live longer. So trying the “Atkins Diet” can help you extend your means. If you can lose a large amount of weight, you are then able to do things you could not do before.
Losing the weight is a grand accomplishment. Its not, however, the end of the road. This is where you then need to change. Get better. Don’t go off a diet to return to the lifestyle that required it. Instead, adopt a less extreme, more balanced dietary regimen. Most importantly, find yourself something that is not difficult to maintain and make sure to take a day or two off every week. Sure, this approach might cause a five pound belly bulge but that’s better than a fifty pound Dunlop condition (my belly donlopped over my belt). There is nothing unhealthy about 10-15 % body fat(women are a little higher). Over all, the balance you achieve in weight will be reflected in your blood sugar and your hormones and, though you may know nothing about these systems, they will be positively affected as well. If you’re not a model, don’t fret about gaining five pounds at Christmas time. Just don’t mudslide into obesity. Balance and moderation in the good and the bad.
Now, what about the food pyramid? The food pyramid was created by the U. S. Department of Agriculture. Hey, wait a minute, shouldn’t that be the responsibility of the FDA or the American Medical Association? Exactly! What is cheap to produce? Everything at the top of the pyramid. When you realize that the pyramid was sponsored and proposed by lobbyists for the Dairy and Meat Councils in America, you can’t disregard the evidence.
Cows milk is really good… for baby cows. I am not a member of the “Milk is death” camp. I grew up in Wisconsin and grew up on the stuff. milk makes the best cheese and ice cream. Too much of anything is a bad thing. I think kids in the Midwest drink way too much milk. I think the whole population consumes a little too much dairy in general. That’s an entirely different rant but worth mentioning. What happens to a baby cow drinking cow’s milk? They get big and fat, just like they are supposed to. Cow’s are slow, grazing, stupid animals, it’s ok for them to be huge. What happens to a person when they consume a lot of Cow’s milk?
It seems that the medical and scientific community are making some progress and getting the word out. People are starting to reevaluate nutrition. Scientists and doctors are getting on the same accord and we may have an unofficial standard appear in the near future. The government will not back it because it will likely not be what our country farmers are planting at the moment. On the other hand, we now have this little internet and what the government says is only one source you can listen to. Politicians are often fat and very unhealthy. I’ll pass on their opinion.
Everyone is different and you have do what is right for you. Common sense goes an awful long way. After everything I said there is only one tiny piece that really matters at all…
“It’s a great day to get better” - George Hydor