Sometimes I Don't Get "IT"

Sometimes I Don't Get "IT"

  I have to admit that I don't think like everyone else. I am sure of this, but we don't really know what goes through another person's mind. I don't get Reality TV; spending hours watching shows about Hollywood, or getting your news from only one source. However, since this is about your health and fitness, I do "get" exercise and eating.

   I like to eat. I like to exercise. But even on a basic level I just like to move and move comfortably. I like food that tastes great and I like a run through the woods. I wasn't always this way. There were times when I was less healthy; when I would eat just about anything with little regard for the long term effects. I understand that I am in the health industry and that it is more or less my job to know about exercise. However, it is not my job to know everything about food and nutrition. Enjoying food and being conscientious about nutrition is my passion. I never ate a calorie, could not tell you what one tastes like. I have eaten burgers, salads, nuts, pizza, tofu, tempeh, snails and, of course, many other things. We all have to eat and so we should all make it our business to know what we are eating.

   Now to what I don't get: I don't get the second 10 pounds someone puts on. The heaviest I have ever been was 194 pounds. I was a very serious weight lifter and workout guy then. I was doing a workout that an NFL team gives their linebackers and tight ends. I could squat and bench press and do pull-ups with obscene amounts of weight. My body fat was, using calipers and a Jackson and Pollock calculations, around 8.5%. When I switched over to doing to more endurance type of exercises I lost 18 pounds in about 8weeks. My body does not "like" being that big and I felt it. How often do we actually take the time to acknowledge how our bodies feel? Try it next time you eat. Pay attention to what your body is telling you. Thirsty after eating? The food probably had too much salt. Stomach not happy? Probably too much fat in the food or what you ate was past its expiration date. Tired after? Probably too much sugar in the food.

   According to a Businessweek article in 2008, 40 billion dollars are spent annually in the diet industry in the US. Divided by the roughly 300 million of us, that is more than $1300 per person per year. That is about 400 Big Macs per person. Now i know I did not go on a diet last year and neither did my immediate family, so those statistics are not right. Maybe if we just paid attention to what we ate and moved a little more we could find a whole new industry to replace the diet industry: Moving.

So a few tips:
1. Don't eat while you are moving. Eat at a table with a knife and fork, you will consume fewer calories.
2. Go for a walk after you eat. A 15 minute walk could save you a bundle on antacids.
3. Know what is in your food. Learn how to read a label beyond the calories and fat grams. Can't pronounce the ingredients? don't eat it.
4. If you are not at a healthy weight, begin to reduce your calories today. Start by reducing your saturated and animal fats.
5. Do something to get moving. Something, even a little, is better than nothing.