Reverse the Curse

Why do weeds grow in my yard without effort but growing verdant grass is nearly impossible but possible with diligence and care? The same reason living healthy is difficult.  When we age we have a tendency to put on extra weight (read fat), our bodies stiffen (in all the wrong places, thank you very much!), pooping becomes things of legend, and doctor visits are more often than that dreaded one time each year. What can be done?

The more I read and study the more I realize proper diet and exercise is vital to a long and healthy life.  Understanding it is one thing but actually living it on a day-to-day basis is not always easy.  Just because it is not easy doesn't mean it's impossible, though. I am experiencing a certain ebb and flow of healthy living versus not so healthy living.  I'm human.  Weeds grow easy but grass takes focus, effort, and care. 

It's important to know that we are in a constant struggle to live healthy.  Don't misunderstand me.  I am not talking about having an unhealthy but popular body from a skinny model or any other extreme.  When I refer to "healthy" I mean blood panels that are better than what is recommended by the American Heart Association or other government subsidized entity, our sugar levels and blood pressure are in the right zone.

It's helpful to set ourselves up for success by putting a premium on exercise of any type.  Our houses need to be stocked with fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds and other options that promote healthy living.  Chips, chocolate, and other food that is nutritionally bankrupt are easy to get, store, and eat so keeping them away is helpful.  Remember in The Karate Kid II: "Best block, no be there."

Everyday is a new day.  Every day we need to resist obesity, heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, and other man-made diseases.  We can do it.  I can do it.  You can do it.

Big Rocks and Little Rocks

Dr. Stephen Covey revolutionized the time management concept with his ground breaking study and subsequent book, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People.  In the audio version of the book he provides an example of doing the most important things in ones life first.  The example is a person placing rocks in a large container.  The person fills the container with large rocks first until it is filled to the top.  He then asks if more rocks can be into the container.  Most reply in the negative.  He then pours smaller rocks, pebbles, and finally sand into the container.  The moral wasn’t that we can always find more time but if we do the big things first the “little” things have a tendency to fit as well.  The same idea applies to eating healthy.

The typical diet contains large amounts of meat (saturated fat) and potatoes cooked in a way that renders them unhealthy (fries, baked with sour cream and butter, mashed with butter, etc.).  Most people do not eat raw fruits and vegetables and it is a contributor to the epidemic of obesity, adult onset diabetes, and heart disease. 

Imagine you want to eat steak and baked potato for special meal.  You get the customary salad that is iceberg, a few shreds of carrot and maybe a tomato wedge.  To that, you add shredded cheese and about 150-300 calories of salad dressing.  Out comes the steak and I don’t know of any restaurant that sells a 3 ounce steak – a petite is typically 6 ounces.  On the side is a large baked potato that requires 2 tablespoons of butter and an equal amount of sour cream.  What if we used our big rock/little rock paradigm?

First course get an expansive salad.  About 2 cups of romaine, a cup of shredded red cabbage, shredded carrots, chopped bell pepper, broccoli florets, and tomato slices.  Slice a slit in a baked potato and insert a bay leaf inside and wrap it in tin-foil and bake it until it is tender.  Eat the entire potato (the skin!) and flavor it with a few drops of Braggs Liquid aminos or some salsa.  Now the steak becomes a side dish not the main dish.  As Dr. Joel Furhman states emphatically, “The salad is the main dish”. 

I don’t advocate eating meat because it really has no nutritional value.  The problem is not simply eating meat is bad, it is that people aren’t eating sufficient fresh vegetables.  It’s an opportunity cost thing. 

Now for dessert: Fresh fruit!

One Bite At a Time

I am astonished at how many people fail prior to ever attempting something.  Failure has been etched in their mind and success is no longer an option.  I’ve been sharing my cholesterol numbers with anyone that will listen.  Of course, many people I share these numbers with experience high cholesterol, diabetes, and high blood pressure.  “I could never do what you do,” they lament. 

I could never eat only plants.  I would never give up my Big Mac, Whopper, Double-Double, or whatever other fast food temptress that means more to them than a strong ticker.  By default they are saying:

·         Heart surgery can’t be that bad, right?

·         I want to die young – the golden years are overrated

·         If I don’t die young I want my last 5 years to be filled with hospital and myriad doctor visits

·         I really want to put my kids through the ringer.  I want them to stop their lives every 6 months and visit me in the CCU and think I am dying

·         I want to be known as the widow maker.

·         I don’t care if I can purchase a life insurance policy

·         I really don’t want to enjoy my grandkids

·         I enjoy testing my sugar every day – it’s freakin’ awesome

·         Meeting my annual deductible with prescription drugs is much better than taking a vacation with my family

·         One can never have too many spare tires or chins

There are dozens or even hundreds more of these types of remarks that could be made (please feel free to add them).  I simply get frustrated when someone tells me they CAN’T do something.  They are living in the land of Myopia.  When the taste of an Olive Burger supercedes the desire to play catch with a future grandkid we have a prioritization issue.

Our nation is in a health care crisis that is mostly preventable.  Heart disease is the #1 killer and it is preventable.  Obesity is the catalyst for many other ailments and it too is preventable.  Join me in my quest to put a dent in it one bite at a time.