How Will You Look At 84 Years Old?

Monday, September 28th, 2009

Meet Bob Delmonteque, he’s 84 years old. Yes, you heard me right, 84 years old!

I came across a Correct Weight Loss Blog post about him over the weekend and I was shocked. I’m only 29 years old and I don’t even come close to this guy! Some people would try and discount his appearance to genetics, but it’s clear that above anything else, his philosophy on life is the main reason he’s stayed in such great condition.

“I actually am growing younger as I’m getting older. And this starts with the mindset, because you can do anything you want to do in life if you want it bad enough. There’s nothing you cannot accomplish. So for any of you seniors, I know it’s never too late to get going. All you need is the goal and the impossible dream. You need a plan, you have to organize yourself and you’ve got to work at it. There has to be a spiritual side of you. You have to so intensely believe that you can do it and that is the secret to making it happen. Because you must persist until you succeed. You can never give up.”

(more…)

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Counting Calories is Modern Bloodletting

Monday, August 24th, 2009

According to Wikipedia, doctors drained blood from their patients trying cure them of diseases for well over 2,000 years. That’s right, for 2,000 years, the most “learned” men in the world took part in a practice which did nothing to improve their patient’s health. In fact, in most cases, it hurt them by opening them up to further infections by weakening their immune systems.

After reading this LA Times piece on the controversy surrounding a junk food tax, I finally came to the conclusion that our current obsession with calories is the modern equivalent to bloodletting. Much like our ancestors, we put blind faith in doctors and nutritionists who tell us this practice actually works. Yet year after year, we continue to count calories and we continue to get bigger and bigger. You would think that after a while people would wise up. In a country that counts calories with the same zeal as a small child counting days until their birthday, why are we all so overweight?

The answer lies throughout all of the conversation surrounding the obesity epidemic. For example, “A clinical trial of 810 adults in May found that reducing soda intake by 100 calories a day was linked to half a pound of weight loss after 18 months.” First of all, do we really need clinical trials to know that cutting back on soda will lead to weight loss? Secondly, who cares how many calories are in a can of soda when it’s the 10 teaspoons of sugar in the can that brings on the blood sugar spike and drop that leads to massive weight gain? Lastly, since studies like this rely on self-reported information, their findings are completely misleading.

Do you really think all 810 of those people cut their soda intake by exactly 100 calories every day for 18 months straight? What was their other food intake like? Did they exercise? How much sugar was in the rest of the food and drinks they consumed? Short of following all 810 people each and every day of their lives for 18 months straight, it’s impossible to answer these questions, so it’s impossible to put any credence in the study’s findings.

It is time to move the conversation away from individual nutrient information, like calories, and toward whole foods. Why waste time asking, “What happens when you drink 100 calories less of soda?” The real question is, “With all we know about sugar and artificial sweeteners, why is anyone drinking soda at all; diet or regular?” Again, they’re missing the point. Solving the epidemic is is not a question of mathematics, it’s a question of culture.

It’s really not that complicated, you don’t need to turn every meal into a science experiment.

Eat less, move more, and enjoy life.

Tags: Freedom
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How To Improve Your Mind

Friday, August 21st, 2009

Fulton Sheen is not only one of my heros, he’s also one of the greatest orators of the 20th century and a future Saint of the Catholic Church. Additionally, he was doing true personal development long before any of the stars of “The Secret” were out of diapers.

Here he is with a few tips on improving your mind. I’m definitely going to implement his method of making my own index in the back of my books after I read them through and highlight what jumps out at me.

Enjoy!

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In The Year 2,000…Scientists Will Conquer Heart Disease

Thursday, August 13th, 2009

I don’t know much about Connie Howard, but she apparently knows a lot more about nutrition than most doctors in the world. I absolutely love this article posted today in the Vue Weekly challenging the “conventional wisdom” about heart disease. She had me at the introduction when she described a group of kids she saw at a convenience store who were clearly feeding a nasty sugar addiction.

She goes on to say, ”The president of the American Heart Association in 1984, Anthony Gotto, predicted that we’d conquer heart disease by the year 2000 by going low fat. But we’ve been low-fat crazy for decades and haven’t even remotely conquered heart disease. Too many of us can identify with president Dwight D. Eisenhower as described by Gary Taubes in Good Calories, Bad Calories, and know well the frustration of shunning eggs and butter and cheese and all things cholesterol and fat in exchange for all things fat-free while watching our weight and cholesterol climb.”

It’s difficult not to quote the entire article here because she does such a fantastic job in demonstrating that the path we’ve been on since the early 80’s just isn’t working.

“But though we know that our bodies store excess carbs as saturated fat, and that they are inextricably tied to excess weight, fluid retention, elevated triglycerides, arterial plaque and high blood pressure, high-carb low-fat diets likely to over-stimulate insulin production are still the recommended ones. Go figure.”

On top of that, we’re all told we have to do everything we can to lower our cholesterol, yet, “that the majority of heart attacks happen in those with normal cholesterol.”

Check out the article, you’ll save yourself from wasting time listening to the “conventional wisdom.”

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Iran Thinks You’re Fat!

Wednesday, August 5th, 2009

It’s interesting to watch the interplay between enemy nations. In the cold war, we worked extremely hard to build a strong hockey program and beat the Russians. We eventually pulled off the “Miracle on Ice” and made history.

Today, the role of the evil enemy nation is played by Iran and we have been working equally hard preparing for the imminent battle. But, I’m pretty sure they don’t play hockey, so, from the looks of this Tehran Times piece, I think we should challenge them to a duel; either a hot dog eating contest at Coney Island or an international Biggest Loser contest simulcast on NBC and Al Jazeera. Seriously, do you think they could down 68 hot dogs in 10 minutes? Not a chance! And, look at the report. We would be so much bigger losers than they could ever dream of being.

What better way is there to demonstrate our moral superiority as a country?

p.s. The picture was taken from their story. The file was named “11_American.” What a fantastic image we’ve built for ourselves around the globe!

Tags: Freedom
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Debunking Nutritionism; Seeing Food As More Than Nutrients.

Monday, August 3rd, 2009

I’ve been recommending and quoting Michael Pollan’s “In Defense of Food” since I read it last year. If you’ve had a conversation with me since then, you have no doubt heard the phrase, “Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.” This simple philosophy has helped to shape my view of the modern food landscape. I have intentionally stayed oblivious to the sort of hyper-scientific emphasis on nutrients found in food that Pollan so eloquently destroys. I cannot tell you one thing about what’s in broccoli, but I can tell you it makes me feel good, so I’m going to keep on eating it.

Nutritionism, Pollan explains, is an ideology that sees food as nothing more than a collection of nutrients. Therefore, according to this worldview, the only valid discussion we should have around food concerns its health benefits. This has brought about the advent of modern food science and is the biggest contributor to our modern health crisis. Highly processed foods loaded with sugar and High Fructose Corn Syrup can be re-engineered every other year with a sexy new “health” claim featuring the “savior nutrient” of the day. The most laughable example of this I’ve seen was a package of sugar-free cookies boasting its abundant supply of “Omega-3 Fatty Acids!”

Pollan brilliantly explains that, while food science seems to have some value, it is ultimately a very young science that has only served to make us sick. My favorite quote of the talk underlining this point was, ”As I see it, nutrition science is where surgery was in about 1,650; really interesting, really promising, but I’m not ready to get on the table. And we should not be ready to change the way we eat based on where they are right now.”

“In Defense of Food” is a very quick read, but if you still haven’t had time to read it, this presentation will serve as a great summary.

He walks on stage at 7:36 in the video.

Enjoy!

Tags: Freedom
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Take Full Responsibility

Thursday, July 30th, 2009

A London newspaper once asked a number of popular authors to write articles about “what’s wrong with the world?” One author replied:

Gentleman,

I am.

Sincerely Yours,

G.K. Chesterton

Chesterton clearly understood the simple truth that the world will not change until you change. Jesus put it more bluntly, “Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.” (Matthew 7:3-5)

Many people spend countless hours attacking those around them without ever taking a look in the mirror to see that the very thing they despise most in others is actually their biggest fault. If you want to know the sins someone is struggling with, just ask them about the news. What they begin to complain about is probably a good indication of what they need to work on themselves.

The next time you’re stuck in yet another annoying situation ask yourself, “What’s the one constant between the last time and this time?” You will see that you are the only constant. Then, you can finally go to work on the one person you can control in this world; yourself.

Jeffrey Gitomer sums this up well in The Sales Bible, “It’s not the rain, or the car, or the phone, or the product — it’s YOU. You have a choice in everything you do. Choose a better way. Don’t blame the path, change the path. Don’t blame the situation, change the situation.”

Tags: Personal Development
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“I’m gonna die anyways…”

Wednesday, July 29th, 2009

Given that I spend most of my time talking to people about eating the best food available and living a long life, I almost always inevitably run into people who say, “I’m gonna die anyways, I might well eat…”

Let’s get this straight, in 2006 there were 121,599 accidental deaths in the United States. 43,664 of those were from car accidents and 27,531 were from unintentional poisonings. These statistics don’t even mention the weird accidental deaths like air conditioners falling on people’s heads, stray bullets, bridge collapses, etc. Add these people to those who die every year from heart disease, cancer, and stroke, and you’ve got some staggering numbers.

Here is another statistic that you might find shocking. One of four people who live to age 65 will make it to 100. Mickey Mantle once famously said, “If I knew I was going to live this long, I’d have have taken better care of myself.”

Here’s my point; there are enough things in this world trying to take you out. You don’t need to add to the list by not taking care of your body. And, if you do end up living to 100, my guess is you don’t want to spend 30 (YES THIRTY!!) of those years suffering in a hospital bed.

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Don’t Quit

Tuesday, July 28th, 2009

Did you know I can read minds? Watch, I’ll prove it to you; right now something has you thinking about giving up. Maybe you’re convinced you will never break free from your sugar addiction, maybe your relationship is in trouble, maybe your kids won’t listen to you, maybe your job isn’t going well, or maybe you can’t even find a job.

If that isn’t the case for you right now, give it a few minutes. As sure as the sun will rise tomorrow, you’ve got a few problems on your horizon. But, how will you handle them once they arrive?

Here is a poem that has helped me overcome several of mine.

When things go wrong, as they sometimes will, 
When the road you’re trudging seems all uphill, 
When the funds are low and the debts are high, 
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh, 
When care is pressing you down a bit, 
Rest, if you must, but don’t you quit.

Life is queer with its twists and turns, 
As every one of us sometimes learns, 
And many a failure turns about, 
When he might have won had he stuck it out; 
Don’t give up though the pace seems slow– 
You may succeed with another blow.

Often the goal is nearer than, 
It seems to a faint and faltering man, 
Often the struggler has given up, 
When he might have captured the victor’s cup, 
And he learned too late when the night slipped down, 
How close he was to the golden crown.

Success is failure turned inside out– 
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt, 
And you never can tell how close you are, 
It may be near when it seems so far, 
So stick to the fight when you’re hardest hit– 
It’s when things seem worst that you must not quit.
- Author unknown

Tags: Freedom
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Canadian Food Imports

Monday, July 27th, 2009

One commenter on this Youtube clip stated, “I don’t care how where my food is from, I just want it to taste good.” Another remarked, “If you listen closely to what the narrator says, she doesn’t actually give any reason why it matters where Canadians food comes from, other than the implication that if the world trading system completely falls apart it will be easier to get food nearby. She hints at the economy and the environment but there’s no actual case made. The whole thing is an appeal to emotion.”

The latter comment implies appealing to emotion is invalid when making any argument. However, people buy on emotion and justify with logic, so appealing to emotion when attempting to spread your message is never a bad idea. But, let’s look at the logical problems with the distance our food travels.

The most obvious problem with our current food system is its dependance on cheap oil. It has been estimated that growing our food requires approximately 100 billion gallons of oil per year, which is equivalent to roughly 166,667 olympic sized swimming pools. Since oil is a non-renewable and limited resource, we are setting ourselves up for disaster once that limited resource begins to disappear. Those affected the most will be the poor of the world who will not be able to keep up with rising prices. We saw the drastic affect rising oil prices has on our world’s food supply and population when food riots broke out in 2007.

An article titled “Environmental Cost of Shipping Groceries Around the World” published by the New York Times on April 26, 2008 underscored the issue. “Cod caught off Norway is shipped to China to be turned into filets, then shipped back to Norway for sale. Argentine lemons fill supermarket shelves on the Citrus Coast of Spain, as local lemons rot on the ground. Half of Europe’s peas are grown and packaged in Kenya.”

Jim Rohn once said, “Success is a refined study of the obvious.” It seems obvious to me that catching fish in Norway, shipping it to China, and then flying it back to Norway makes absolutely no sense; economically or environmentally.

Additionally, since food travels so far today, it has to be treated with chemicals so it can stay looking fresh longer. This diminishes its nutritional value and puts all kinds of dangerous toxins into our food supply.

So, again, buy local. You’re going to have to eventually, so you might as well start now

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