the perspective diet

[Here's a topic that's been on my mind as of late. written for submission to The Oracle Project.]

It was well over a decade ago that I decided not to buy into any nutrition movement. The organic variations. The low carb. The raw food. The blood type. The vegan. On and on they roll in and out of style.

Maybe it's because I'm not a nutrition expert. I'm not. Maybe it's because I've been blessed with relatively good health (so far) and haven't been subject to desperation. But what I am is a health conscious person who cannot do any of it.

Specific diets are justified in the name of health, wellness, or fitness. They explain illness with a clear cut nutritional imbalance. There are rules, of course. When obesity, illness, etc occurs (and it will), it's because of something you did not follow correctly regarding the diet. Pretty soon your left with drinking raw, certified organic beet juice, wondering why you're still tired and stuffy in the nose.

Many diets are bad religion.

The gurus seem to miss that what "works" are the basics that we've known for decades: most people (well, Americans anyway) eat too much, eat too many processed foods, and move far too little. They seem to forget that humans have proven relatively resilient through the ages, thriving and healing (miraculously in my opinion) on a great variety of dietary habits. Do they also forget that all of us eventually wear out and become ill and die?

It is main line science and not fringe dietary conspirists that progress our understanding. For example, it's reasonable to follow a specific dietary regimen for specific conditions like gluten intolerance or genetic predisposition to high cholesterol. We now know that starchy carbs are easy to over eat, natural sources of fat and cholesterol are good for you, and that we can benefit from more omega-3 fatty acids. Just like many other areas of life, the diet gurus take an ounce of legit science and run with it, offering answers to every malady with scant evidence for benefit beyond what generally clean living provides.

If it turns out that any of the diets do provide such above and beyond benefit, I'm skeptical that they're worth the numerous costs. I suspect that all the extreme behaviors are unnecessary at best. Maybe a dose of perspective is the perfect recipe to those of us who imagine that bananas have too many carbs, that inorganics are simply unacceptable, or one gram of protein per pound of body weight per day is really needed to achieve a certain aesthetic.

My aunt putting aside her own self, her time and money
 and comfort to serve the people of Sierra Leone.

While the majority of people throughout the ages have starved and suffered extreme malnutrition, we sit at our computers worrying about or even arguing over whether or not it's optimal to cook our carrots and homogenize our milk. I think we would all tremendously benefit from a few weeks of service in one of the many parts of the world where they eat rice for dinner and have no lunch at all.

And now I'll offer something beyond criticism.

Prior to ascribing to any specific dietary rules and spending thousands of dollars on proactive or reactive health care, I thought to at least try the following:

1. Try not to over eat.  Always easier said than done where food is actually available.

2. Get the majority of daily calories from minimally processed foods.

3. Move more. The perfect diet will not accomplish for your body and mind what physical activity can.

4. Rest. As if it really matters - one of my own greatest struggles.

5. Laugh.

6. Serve others. While diet and exercise are all about me, less self focus cures many ailments.

7. Give thanks. Practice gratitude (see point number 1). Read up on it. Gratitude may be the closest thing we have to a miracle on demand.

If you disagree or simply have to narrow your focus, at least go with the final two.

get heavy to lose weight

[On the heels of this post about how I train, here's an entry about how I eat. People question that about half as often. Thankfully.]

At around the age of six I discovered my grandfather eating Penrose sausages. We polished off a jar of them babies in no time. I requested that mom add them to our grocery list, and for a few weeks I was eating a lot of Penrose.

That happened to coincide with a time when I was learning to read. At one point, while sitting down to more smoked and processed, ready-to-eat bliss, I read the ingredients on the back of the jar.

...chicken, pork, salt, beef lips,...

"WHAT? MOOOM. Does this say really say BEEF LIPS???" 

I couldn't get the image out of my head. I never thought about the lips of a cow, but now I went to bed and woke up thinking about how many lips I had eaten. I haven't since had a single Penrose and the number of hot dogs I've eaten can be counted on both hands. 

I'm no dietitian or nutritionist or finicky food nazi. To this day I can and will eat certain things at McDonalds or wherever else typical Healthfitnessdiet People (usually with a sales agenda) bastardize.

So here they are, without further beef lips, the three rules that I live by.

1. Read the ingredients. 

This is the first rule I learned to follow far before I knew about the relationship between how you eat and how you feel and function.

You don't need a PhD as a dietitian or chemist or biologist to know that putting too many ingredients like yellow coloring no. 6 and partially hydrogenated oils and propylene glycols into your system is probably not good for you. Beef lips, while high on the gross factor, are ironically low on the list of things we should be concerned about.

I'm not suggesting that you (or I) never eat foods with such ingredients. Personally, I'm okay with taking in a little high fructose corn syrup, caramel coloring, and sodium nitrate. But I don't want to over do it. Merely reading the ingredients of the foods and beverages you often eat ensures you're not the one setting a new record for Lamb Fries.

This summarized exactly how I felt after reading beef lips:



2. No deep fried foods.

Simple as that. There are too many other healthy and unhealthy options that are measurable less toxic on your system. 

3. Get heavy. 

Losing weight and looking lean and fit are not the same thing. At around 200 pounds, I carry 15 to 25 pounds more than my frame would naturally carry without all the resistance training. Because of this, my energy furnace is pretty huge. Functional and lean mass provide plenty of margin for a non-precision diet. The mind and body do not pay for occasional treats or hogging out or even eating like a normal person without time for dishes that require an hour to prepare.

If you want to look good without dieting hard, lift heavy. Seriously, put on some weight. I've rehabbed and trained and simply observed what's going on with a lot of people. Being lean and fit is highly challenging when you have little muscle to support your efforts.

Further observation:


Maintaining fitness and leanness is MUCH easier than achieving it. Things are easy once you get the ball rolling with a regular training routine. You lose the taste for a lot of junk (but probably not all junk).

Diets are good and necessary but they are always hard to sustain. Keep in mind that MUCH of their effectiveness comes by the fact that they are restrictive. Most of the bazillion food products that you normally have easy access to are now simply off limits. You have fewer options and get bored. So you simply end up eating less.

If you're underwhelmed at all the diet/fitness information overload here and on all the innernets, I recommend the Paleo Diet. If you ain't even got time fodat, take 10 minutes to read the two chapters on diet in The Four Hour Body. Timothy Ferris is no scientist, but he's a great writer and summarizes all you need to know.

- - - - -

Also, for further reading, here's the strict regimen I maintain in my personal diet plan:
THE PERSPECTIVE DIET.

- - - - -

you are what you eat [and do]

Unpacking the proverb.  

For year, nutritionists and trainers have explained that a person cannot achieve their health and fitness goals by exercise alone. "You can't out-train a poor diet." I stand by this advice, and I've said it myself. A 30-minute run burns approximately 300 calories above and beyond resting metabolic rate. Most people can take in that many calories in 5 seconds. (Well, I can). Hey, lay off my eating etiquette! The point is that exercise to merely burn calories is a tedious means of achieving energy balance.

Dismounting the dieting/treadmill...treadmill.

There's definitely more to the story of how you look, feel, and function. What we eat will always be relevant, but it's not the bottom line. Exercise is important, and overall lifestyle even more so.

[runs away, screaming in terror]

So many of us are ultra particular about what we will and will not eat. Of course there's the gluten thing, which kind of ruins it for people who really do have celiac disease. I've recently heard intelligent people describing how non-organic apples are pure poison and having a little chocolate wrecks the immune system. Does everyone believe they are the exception to the basic tenets of human physiology? By definition, this cannot be the case.




How refreshing would it be to hear someone say "I'm not having cake right now because I already had a huge cheeseburger and some fruit salad. But really, right now I'm just trying not to be a hog?"But instead, we are far more likely to get "Take these non gluten free croutons off my organic non-GMO free range chef salad because, yeah, I can't eat those."

I wish people would quit kidding themselves. Don't tell me that you never go home and pound the m&ms. You could have, well, pretty much anything if you ate it less frequently and in reasonable amounts. I've seen what happens when an individual musters enough willpower to follow the diet and their metabolism crashes and they look and feel deflated. We pound the m&ms. And then, well of course - we need a more strict diet!

I think we are asking too much of our diets.

We place far too little value and effort in a common-sense approach to eating, and far too much emphasis on -our- particular diets. Most of these particular/fundamentalist diets have no legitimate research behind them and their rules are over-rated. But do you know what's under-rated? Not eating the whole bag. Eating your fill and holding off on desert most of the time. Getting enough sleep. Turning your attention to something productive when you're bored in front of the TV. 

The NKYCS (No Kidding Yourself Common Sense) diet is sufficient for those who are reasonably active and carry some muscle on their frame. Eat fruit, vegetables, lean meats/proteins, and minimally-processed foods most of the time. Eat what you need 80 or 90% of the time and a reasonable amount of what you want 10 or 20% of the time. The everday readily available foods can be healthy if we use a little forethought. 

Why is such common sense advice and follow-through insufficient? One of the reasons, I believe, is because we have it too good.

Options

We have so many options. After all, in America the poorest among us are not starving, but obese. Instead of using common sense and following through when it's challenging, we become diet Pharisees. We find or make rules to lean on when we don't want to think for ourselves. Rules to narrow our options. We look to ever compounding minutia that will deliver us to the health and fitness Promised Land, staring right past our freedoms and blessings and a million and one other more important things.

Comfort

Most of us take rather drastic measures to achieve comfort. Have you stopped to consider the typical grocery store and gym? What I witness at the Giant grocery store and Golds Gym is not typical of the human experience. So many of the foods, gadgets, machinery, and exercise programs are an attempt to achieve health and fitness without getting too uncomfortable. Comfort is king and we have lost perspective.

You sit on this behemoth so you can straighten your elbows.

The thing we're most lacking is not some perfect "Eat this" and "Don't eat that." The missing ingredient is simply making formal and informal physical activity a priority in our busy schedules. And what if we could add a willingness to gradually get acquainted with discomfort? This is not a call to injury, but to pushing through the inertia that got us where we are, to carefully increasing the intensity in all it's forms, to confronting weaknesses instead of doing what comes easy.

Informal activity

Informal activity is the movement behind life. You enjoy hiking or gardening or serving others or chasing your kids or playing softball or whatever you get lost in.  Calories are burnt, for sure, but this is not the primary point. The point is living life, and getting yourself busy with something productive or enjoyable. This could be just about anything that does not involve sitting on the couch or at a desk.

Formal exercise

Some people enjoy limited amounts of formal exercise, but please understand that the point is not enjoyment or merely burning energy. This is where you work on specific impairments in movement quality. Two or three times per week you emphasize building strength, balance, and coordination. Adding muscle is not just for middle school football players. Muscle keeps you functioning well and moving in life. Muscle on the frame increases energy expenditure around the clock and stops the cycle of more exercise and more dieting rules needed to maintain energy balance.

Formal exercise should not look like hours on the elliptical or sitting on various exercise machines. Whether or not you enjoy walking and running, exercise should include more than straight ahead "cardio."

In conclusion

It's a shame that the NKYCS diet would not sell. Asking people to shift their priorities, to get busy and be uncomfortable is also unlikely to be well received. I'm sure the next big diet will be sciency, flashy, and new. There will be a physique, realistic but with just enough digital alteration to promote discontentment. Add an exercise contraption, a sense of urgency, and dash of fear to complete the winning formula.

And remember that I'm no dietician or chemist. I'm just a physical therapy guy who will readily admit that ANY activity, even walking three hours per day or driving to the huge temperature controlled environment to sit on a tricep extension machine, is likely better than nothing at all.

- - - - -

You have heard that it was said long ago, "You cannot out-exercise a poor diet." But I say that you should not diet at all; neither by calorie counting, for this is unnecessary tedium; nor out of fear, for some form of hatred quickly follows; nor by an appeal to the past, for the blessings and curses of the present are inevitable.

Instead, seek common sense, self discipline, and gratitude. Use your time and abilities wisely. And stay strong.


a

My Top Secret Fitness...Secrets

When you're a physical therapist and trainer and appear to be "in shape," the question of "what you do" comes up quite frequently. Many people assume that I spend a lot of time in a gym or kitchen or Whole Foods. I don't.

Diet

I don't measure portions or time nutrients or count calories or macros or the number of times I eat per day. I don't tally steps, miles, or caloric expenditure. I don't use supplements before, during, or after my workouts (unless you count coffee). I don't eat gluten free or organic.

flipping out on the beach

I do try to eat minimally processed and altogether avoid fried foods. My diet is a cheeseburger and a grilled chicken sandwich without the fries. Many times after work I eat from the plate of food that's a conglomerate of kid leftovers one step removed from the dog dish. No, really. I have some ice cream when I feel like it.

I'm certain this diet depends on who I'm with. By fitness culture standards it's shameful and sloppy. By general American standards it's Puritanical borishness.

You will not be healthy and look fit if you're into heavy drinking, if you must have desert after every meal, or you frequently eat out at chain restaurants. You just won't - unless you make some MAJOR sacrifices in other areas. And your time and body cannot afford that for long.

When you make an honest effort at simply eating a balanced and healthy diet but don't make a huge deal of it, you will tend to lose the taste for dieting gimmicks, indulgent foods, and obsessive eating behaviors. Or, at least that's my hope.

For further detail, I'm the author and strict adherent of The Perspective Diet.

Exercise

I don't train 5 days per week. I don't do many Olympic lifts or yoga. I don't perform a series of dynamic warm-up drills before training and cool down with static stretches after training. I often don't warm up at all. I don't do (traditional) cardio except in the rare instance that I have some kind of endurance based competitive event.

I do visualize whatever it is that I'm working towards. I see what it's like to pull off an easy side flip. I mentally stick the balance point on a mountain bike trick. I mentally feel the position of my legs and trunk under the weight of a big pull (dead lift).

I do stay active with my family and friends, and with various domestic tasks around the house and yard. I play formal and informal pick up sports and have fun.  

But alas, HERE IS THE REAL SECRET to feeling and looking good without life revolving around diet and exercise:

1. Be super consistent.
2. Do (relatively) heavy total-body resistance training.

Here is exactly what I do in terms of structured exercise:

Tuesday - (warm up sets not listed) 3 to 4 sets of a horizontal press - think bench press/variation
                 3 to 4 sets of dead lifts
                 3 sets of split squats (single leg variation)
                 2 to 3 sets of some kind of core/conditioning circuit

car push!

Friday - PlyoFriday is usually a series of various jumps, leaps, short sprints, and pushing an old Subaru down Bonny Lane.

Saturday - 4 sets Weighted Chin-ups
                  4 sets of overhead press variation
                  3 sets of dumbbell "lawn mower" rows
                  20 reps squats!!!
                  2 to 3 sets of some kind of core/conditioning circuit

At a little over 6'1", I carry around 200 lbs of mostly muscle because I regularly lift heavy, total body movements. I can lift heavy, total body movements because my flexibility, stability, and movement patterns are good (thus I don't often get injured). My movement patterns are good because I've been at it for a while, it's part of my day job, and most importantly, I enjoy it.
           
This training program is not top secret or high tech or complex or quick and easy. But it keeps me heavy to the point that my body is resilient to the demands of life. Being heavy allows me to eat like a normal human and yet maintain muscle definition.

More on this at Get Heavy to Lose Weight. 

Skipping warm-ups and eating 3 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches per day is most definitely not for everyone. Hell, I don't claim that anything listed here is for everyone. My story is a work in progress with the outcome still unknown. When I'm old and lean and my knees and lower back ache, will it be from the resistance training? Or the amateur gymnastics? Or chasing my kids through the woods and over rocky creek beds? Or from mountain bike crashes? Or the 30+ years of trying to play basketball?

I guess we'll see. But hopefully you get the picture.

Get Fit and Stay That Way

What comes to mind when you think of getting fit? Eating well and exercising is a great place to start. There's a mountain of evidence that sustainability is a major problem. Over half of those who begin some type of diet or exercise program will quit within the first six months.  The percentage of dropouts only goes up from there, and this is not to mention the vast majority of the population who remain sedentary.


Most people are well aware of the numerous physical and psychological benefits of eating well and exercising. There are various theories as to why people stop despite having the best of intentions. Rather than making specific recommendations, here I hope to provide some perspective on how physical activity can work for you as an integral part of life.





Here are three common and legitimate barriers to staying fit.

We want what we want.

Many people set themselves up for failure right out of the gate by focusing on their goal rather than the process of getting there. We're naturally motivated by wanting to improve our health, appearance, or performance. But scientists have discovered that this type of motivation ebbs and flows and does little to effect long-term change.


Seriously not helpful.

Most people think that achieving their goals is a matter of "wanting it bad enough," having willpower or passion. Authentic and meaningful change always demands time and effort. Successful people feel the same distractions and lack of motivation, but they don't allow daily emotions to determine their actions. They commit to the daily practice of winning small victories and they find a way to enjoy the process. They keep an eye on big-picture goals, but they lean on routine and habit (rather than, say, watching motivational videos or visualizing the end) to work through the barriers.

We get busy and bored

On popular TV shows like The Biggest Loser, an unfit person has a team of trainers, doctors, and coaches who focus on them for twelve weeks in front of a national audience. Reality is not like that.

There is stress of work and family and keeping house and environmental and social pressures, all of which last for more than 12 weeks. It is not practical for a good spouse or parent or boss or employee to focus on themselves around the clock. There are limited minutes in the day, and we're just plain tired. Is it any wonder that we cannot bear the thought of driving to the gym to do time on an elliptical machine, and we're not in the mood for an hour standing in front of a peppy DVD coach?

Exercise merely for the sake of burning calories is tedium that has little staying power. Research has shown that we all greatly over-estimate the number of calories that we burn during formal exercise.

Remember that time when you strained and dripped sweat on some exercise contraption for thirty minutes? Your face dropped when it reported that you burned 350 (or so) calories. You stepped down questioning the validity of a machines ability to estimate your effort.

The bad news is that the machines estimate was probably fairly accurate. Your body would have used almost one third of that to simply maintain itself on the couch. So all you profited from the disciplined effort was a measly 250 calories. It's often the case that half of the 250 calorie deficit is wasted on an afternoon energy drink and eating a few purple tootsie rolls on the way out of the gym.

Will you spend thirty of your limited minutes on this earth, plus preparing and driving to and from the gym, all for 150 calories? Is droning on a machine wise use of the precious time that you allot to yourself?

"There is nobody who has time for that."

    -paraphrase, famous quote

Without getting into the details, a diet of high volume, nutrient dense foods is clearly the most efficient and effective way to achieve the energy balance required get in shape. Most studies find that people who are told to cut calories lose more weight than those who are told to exercise more, though a mix of diet and exercise is usually best. Also, exercise does make you hungry, although this seems to vary greatly among individuals.

If you enjoy the gym scene, have at it. The claim here is that for most people, exercise is relatively unimportant  for the purposes of energy balance. You do need to exercise for many reasons, but weight loss is not one of them.  And I believe that people seeing exercise as merely a way to burn calories is one of the reasons for all the burn-out.

We get injured.

Those who muster the diligence to power through these major barriers are rewarded with injury.

You can have too much of a good thing. Mechanical wear and tear on the body accelerates as we exercise with greater intensity and duration. At around three months into an exercise program, the body often begins to break down. Even gentle activities such as walking commonly cause foot and knee problems when applied for too long, too often. This is especially the case for those who often use a repetitive physical activity and lack awareness of their poor movement patterns.

Many people are also unaware of what a reasonable and sustainable fitness program would look like. Those who want results yesterday dive into the self proclaimed extreme diet and exercise regimens. Some of these require six, sixty-minute sessions of intense activity per week. I've made the claim that most people will improve drastically by starting a reasonable diet and playing horseshoes (or nearly any activity) that many days per week. Insanity soon becomes drudgery, and the solution is not the next 12-week program.

What the glamorous and extreme formulas promise in the short-term they lack in sustainability. While a home based fitness DVD program called "Reasonable" would likely not sell nearly as well as P90X or Insanity, it should. How will you look and feel not 12 weeks, but 12 months or 12 years from now?

A New Way to View Fitness

With those barriers in mind, here are three practical suggestions to help you stay in the game. Rather than relying on extreme exercise programs, meal plans, and restrictive diets, we benefit far more from periodically reflecting on what drives our beneficial and harmful patterns of behavior. This is essential because committing to a long-term active lifestyle is different and far more challenging than "getting in shape for swimsuit season" or any of the typical quick fixes. Your personal priorities, preferences, obligations, peers and environment are all far beyond any "four weeks to fit" exercise template.

     1. Informal Exercise

Seek out activities that you find enjoyable or productive. Strive to do something active every day. Just move! It doesn't have to be high in intensity or effort. This can be nearly anything that does not involve a chair or electronic device. Calories are burned, for sure, but that's not the primary intent. Get lost in the garden or on the bike trail. Find a dog that needs walked, join a soccer league, Frisbee golf, Zumba, play with the kids, or pick up trash along the roadway. Finding time for activity is so much easier when there is purpose and meaning beyond building the body or burning calories. If your daily work involves a lot of physical labor, you can probably afford to skip the informal exercise.


 “My own prescription for health is less paperwork and more running barefoot through the grass”          
          ~Leslie Grimutter

    

     2. Formal Exercise

Settle in to a consistent formal exercise routine that supports the demands of your life at work and play. Again, calories will fly, but formal exercise is primarily for one to three days per week of body maintenance and prevention. This type of exercise is a type of prescription. It's like eating spinach and teeth flossing: you do not necessarily enjoy it but you follow through because it's good for you.

Mindless "cardio," laying on the floor doing crunches, and sitting on various exercise contraptions do not count for much. Think of targeted flexibility, strength, and balance activities that keep your body functioning well. Movement quality is of utmost important, and this is where you may want to consult a movement specialist to obtain a specific flexibility and strength program that's based upon your individual goals, body movement, and activity demands.

     3. Goals Edit

Think through and create fitness goals that are based on what you do rather than something you are. For example, rather than "get in shape," you may want to be able to do a full pull-up or run a 5K in less than 30 minutes. If you want to lost 10 or 20 pounds, make a goal of scheduling 60 minutes, 6 days per week for informal or formal activity. Instead of falling for an extreme diet, create small daily habits like "eating a healthy breakfast and not snacking before dinner."

     4. Set yourself up for success.

What refreshes you? Will the camaraderie and accountability of a partner or group help you stay the course? Some people thrive off the social aspect of fitness while others prefer having space to breath and think. Whether or not you exercise with someone, share your goals with a trusted friend.

If you take the time to exercise and eat well, it's likely that some other part of your life will have to go. Think through this ahead of time and set up a three month schedule that reflects your top priorities.

Do what you need to do to stay active, because it truly is that important.

“Those who think they have no time for exercise will sooner or later find time for illness.”
  
       ~Edward Stanley


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REFERENCES

Poor compliance and high drop out of those who begin a fitness routine:

Huberty, J.L., et al. 2008. Explaining long-term exercise adherence in women who complete a structured exercise program. Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport, 79 (3), 374–84.

http://www.phcfm.org/index.php/phcfm/article/v

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3670684/

Trost, S.G., et al. 2002. Correlates of adults’ participation in physical activity: Review and update. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 34 (12), 1996–2001.

Extrinsic motivation does not last:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24944133

Different ways that people deal with a lack of motivation:

Whaley, D.E., & Schrider, A.F. 2005. The process of adult exercise adherence: Self-perceptions and competence. The Sport Psychologist, 19, 148–63.

Wilson, K., & Brookfield, D. 2009. Effect of goal setting on motivation and adherence in a six-week exercise program. International Journal of Sport and Exercise Physiology, 6, 89–100.

Better results from exercise plus diet rather than exercise alone:

Obesity 22; 325, 2014 PLos One 2014, doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0109849

Intermittent exercise is better maintained than sustained exercise:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3181282/

Fitness Goals: Reasonable versus Marketable

Be mindful of how you frame your New Years fitness goals. You may simply want to lose X pounds (not the greatest goal), complete a 5K run, or be able to perform pull-ups (better). But if you want something other than the typical January gusto and March fizzle, you should probably nudge the goals down by a notch or three.

Try to imagine long-term behavior changes that are helpful in a truly holistic sense. Various facets of life pose a challenge to achieving and maintaining health and fitness. Expect a struggle. Maintaining your priorities in life while changing wasteful habits happens only with careful thought and intent.

Here are a few important considerations.

Minding your diet is necessary.

But don't be unreasonable. Avoid cleanses, detoxes, intermittent fasting, nonintermittant fasting, and other plans that sound like fantastic extraordinary ideas. I often wonder why people resort to such foolishness when they haven't given simple, common sense changes a solid effort. Perhaps there is some psychological trick that extreme type diets provide. But they work against you in the long run when they fail to produce practical lifestyle changes.

Eating healthy does not help your brain, joints, and muscles to function in better posture and alignment. A healthy diet does not make you move with grace and efficiency.

Suppose that you manage to follow through with a highly restrictive diet and overzealous exercise plan. Your likely reward, at best, will be a short time of goal achievement followed by dropping out as "normal life" gets in the way. The body adapts to what it perceives as hard times and adjusts your baseline calorie needs.  You will find yourself tired and eating skimpy salads at every meal in order to avoid getting soft around the middle.

You don't have to be unreasonable with your diet when your physical activity level is somewhat on track.

Exercise is necessary.

But you don’t have to go crazy, especially if your diet is somewhat on track.

Without a proper foundation of flexibility and stability, and minding the details of HOW your body moves, the Insanity DVD, the mind numbing cardio, the epic full throttle heavy weight sessions, the Spartan Training, and competitive WODs, are all likely to cause more harm than good. And it's no fun to brag about Achilles tendonitis or lumbar radiculopathy on Facebook.

You workouts do not
need to look like this.

Suppose that you manage to remain uninjured in the extreme fitness plans. All the time and torture is rarely necessary. They are possibly beneficial for forging more elite fitness when you already possess elite fitness. But the 99% of us who have families, work, houses to maintain, and hobbies other than fitness will do much better with a more reasonable and structured exercise plan.

In the past I've watched TV preachers and wondered how they act in their personal lives. "Does that guy really behave that way as he goes about his day?" Recently I realized that the same critical eye should be applied to the high energy fitness DVD personalities.

Do your family, employer, and friends enjoy the version of you that must eat low carb, organic, etc. etc free every three hours and exercise 6 days per week? Some things are more important than...even deadlifts! Don’t imagine that what's best for a pro athlete or a fit 20 year- old living under their parents roof will be the best training plan for you.

Exercise is not an efficient means of achieving calorie control, a means that most of us legitimately do not have time for. Instead of merely burning calories, exercise to have fun being active with friends and family. Exercise to build strength, balance, and improve how your body moves, so that you feel willing and able to get involved with living away from the screen.

Perspective

Longevity definitely wins in the health and fitness game. But considering what you will look and feel like in a year doesn't sell nearly as well as the 6 Weeks to Slim program.

Shameless PT PLUG: You may want to take that amount of time to work on your nagging shoulder and irritable lower back before going for it in the gym!

Prioritize your health and don't take it for granted. Be fit, look good, and measure the costs. Sleep well, recover well, and manage the stress in your life. These are the unmarketable and completely relevant components of achieving what you really need out of a diet and fitness plan.

Health and Wellness Disease

America is a nation of illness, much (but certainly not all) of it due self inflicted behavioral patterns. America is also affluent, with standards of living, health expectations, and "wellness" behaviors that are frankly obnoxious in the grand scheme of things.

There has to be some middle ground. That life consuming thing that you're following to be healthy and feel better and get in shape - Is it worth the time, the money, the mental energy? Is it really necessary?

- - - - -

I hacked and wheezed and sniffed twice per year. For all of my childhood, late October and early April were ugly, with upper nasal passage and sinuses filled with cement. My eyes itched. My mouth was dry, from both breathing through it and the side effects of ineffective decongestants.When this pattern lasted into young adulthood, well past the completion of years of allergy injections, I accepted it as a normal part of life.

In my early twenties I experienced three or four years of intermittent acne and severe gastrointestinal distress. A deep, hardened lump would appear on some random part of my face, gradually ascend into a small mountain, then develop into a scab from being picked at.

On two separate occasions I took months of a strong anti-inflammatory steroid for the treatment of lower abdominal pain, diarrhea, and severe anemia. Lower and upper GI tests were inconclusive, and the GI specialist diagnosed ulcerative collitus (UC). He said UC is a lifetime diagnoses and the best I would do is manage it.

But then...

I switched to eating a completely organic paleo diet. They didn't call it paleo back then, but it was definitely a gluten and dairy issue. My abs came in and the allergies cleared up almost over night. When I added significant amounts of kale and Quinoa, and went with only free range sources of protein (mostly chicken and salmon) the acne and GI issues both resolved within 6 months.

I wish that were the truth. But it's absolutely not. The allergies and acne issues did clear up sometime between the ages of 25 and 27. After a few years of symptom-free management, I stopped taking UC medication around my 30th birthday.

And the truth is, I have no idea what happened. Whatever changes I made to my life in that time, they certainly were not diet, medication, or exercise-related. Even the GI specialist, who warned me and did follow-up blood profiles, upper- and lower GI tests was baffled.

This is what I do know.

If I went gluten free or organic or what-have-you and experienced such a dramatic difference, I would be a huge believer. If I went to the right church and prayed specific healing prayers and was wiped down with special, God-ordained oil, I would be a huge believer. If I did the Tony Little Gazelle while watching Lifetime specials, I would be a huge believer.

But I did none of that. Here is what I did.

I kept on, (mostly) listening to my doctors, and began listening to my body. I came to a more stable season of life. The house, the job, and community of friends was established. One day I looked back and saw getting all As and one B in seven years of college as evidence of an unhealthy college life.


So with the help of my wife I decided to loosen up and have fun. Sometime in there I did make a conscious effort to think more of others. This treatment would be forced upon me in much greater dosages with the birth of our first child. I stopped obsessing about fitness and such (though training continues to be an important part of my own "life management" to this day). If anything, I slackened my "healthy" diet by 30%.

I gradually became more acquainted with perspective, gaining some appreciation for the place and times in which I live, and my small place in the world. I did earnestly pray. I found a gentle and wise, challenging and provocative Jesus who always points to a type of obedience that ends in love, grace, and peace.

Ah, peace.

And yet these are only a few of the things that occurred in my late twenties. Again, I have no idea exactly how or why those illnesses resolved. Nothing in this essay is meant to be proscriptive. Many people struggle with various health complications through no fault of their own, and not for lack of trying to do whatever it takes to feel better. But I do want to point out the complexity and mystery of our autoimmune system and life in general. There is so much going on in your life journey right now that is so far beyond any one medical specialist much less poorly evidenced or otherwise anecdotal advice.

-Most of the time try to eat minimally processed foods.
-Manage stress.
-Get enough rest.
-Move better so you feel better and can be more active (my specialty).
-Listen to your body. ALSO listen to your doctor (especially if you have a doctor that takes the time to know you and listen to you). We don't know nearly as much as we think we know, so listen to your doctor, if only for an exercise in humility.

There's no short-cut to these and no magic in them, but I would say the net effect is miraculous. We would do well give all of them a serious and honest effort before ascribing to some restrictive, lack-of-perspective advice, dietary or otherwise.

To Our Wealth and Hellness

- -

A free range, grass fed, all certified natural organ...toast: to our loss of perspective and ever creative solutions to problems real and imagined.

When we visit my parents, mom goes out of her way to buy at least two different kinds of milk. Skim for the parents, whole for the under two crowd, and often 2% thrown in for good measure. It occurred to me that this may be slightly belligerant.

I know about special diets and imposition; how even noble ambition toward health and fitness can take on an unhealthy life of its own. My late teens and early twenties were invested in pushing the limits of imposing, annoying, Debbie-downer discipline. I would be a huge, ripped, strong, (and good looking) baseball star at Slippery Rock.

Not.

The vice associated with health and wellness is the opposite of gluttony, but it may as well be the same. What do the quantities or content of foods matter, so long as an appetite, a particular appetite, promotes a whole lot of imposition and loss of perspective and, above all, extra self-concern?

It’s no leap to claim that any diet (and exercise) plan can run the risk of consuming us. I think one of todays biggest tempters toward loss of healthy, yes, "holistic" balance has to be the organics. Have you read the rationale or considered the costs of seeing that all way through?

I try to be understanding of those who swear by it. You can't argue with anecdotal testimony, and certainly special circumstances do exist. But by definition, everyone doesn't have said special circumstances.

I use to be in the know on this. In order to sift through the junk science and billions of claims by people who stand to profit from selling organics, you really do need to know the basics of biochemistry. I mean, serious reading. Organic chemistry. Anatomy and physiology of the digestive system. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. The International Journal of Sports Nutrition. The center for science in the public interest. This is what a nerd looks forward to on slow weekends in college.

And now I don't have time for that. I mean, you will sometimes catch me reading this site that I absolutely love. But I'm supposed to know the latest and greatest of how to remodel collagen and re-align scoliosis and effectively increase the explosive strength of high school athletes. After thinking critically over literature in my own field, I'm just not into pouring over the variables that influence the oxidative processes of various types of triglycerides.

So the bottom line with organics is 1) I don't claim to be an expert on this, and 2) I'm just not buying it. While there’s certainly value in the checks and balances that allow us to reach environmental and food quality middle ground, an ounce of science only stretches so far. And there does seem to be more review articles like this.

Can organics really abolish all (or even any) of the maladies of the earth and her people? Is it likely, even probable, that things would be worse without all those darn highly efficient, high yielding farming techniques? Remember, Americas poorest and least educated cohort suffers not from malnourishment but from obesity.

When our bodies are frail from a lack of getting outside and actually moving, and years of coffee for breakfast, are organic potatoe chips really the answer there? Is organic soy nard the solution for vegetarians who feel constant fatigue and anemia and blood sugar swings? Are traces of pesticides the cause of all the stress and lack of sleep associated with our economic competitiveness and all nighters with the Wii (or blogging)? It's possible, but I doubt it.

Even if there were some benefit, are the costs justified? The "well off" have slightly better nutrition with which to fuel their polo matches and family conflicts while everybody else starves. Try asking an old time farmer or the 3rd world about minutia regarding food they don't have. They are freaking starving, and would probably choose this "unnatural" fertilizer over cow dung and bugs in their food, anyway.

Take care of your body and the environment we all share – yes. Maybe for you that means organic food and no meat. Fine, there are a lot worse things to do with your life. But please have equal grace toward my position. Don't go reversing the moral compass on me - you who consider sex and relationships to be a matter of preference while suddenly our choice of food is handed down from some universal moral standard. Yeah, you're right, let's not go there.

And for everyone, in your effort to maintain a clean running, pain-free, long lasting machine of a body, do give some attention to where you're going.

Whatever the case, I'll keep trying to put some effort into eating fresh produce and non-processed foods - organic or otherwise. I'll continue with less effort debating the marginal-at-best benefits of organics, because I can't afford it (in time). I literally can't afford to continue with my small part to help the third world and feed organic blueberries to my family of 6.

And whatever milk mom has on hand when we visit will do just fine.

The Best Workout for Health: Be Like Amy

"Slow Ride.
    Take it easy."      -Foghat

Read part one here - an extended intro to this. While the physical freaks, the hardcore, and the professionals may have their day in the spotlight, my suspicion is that most of us may want to look to the Exercise Moderates.

Yeah - this from the guy who works in physical rehab and sports performance. Who sporadically attempts to type original content on a training related blog. The one with a hobby that includes speed and power and lifting massive masses of mass. Who enjoys reading and thinking about training and sharing the journey with others.

But what if he's wrong? Or less correct than say, someone with a different perspective? Someone who lives at the same address who doesn't put in near as much effort?
I know my wife better than anyone on the planet. I know Amy's history, her ways and inclinations. I understand her and what it means to be her - to a point. Of course we see the world differently. We don't agree on every jot and tiddle, nor do we feel the need to.

Amy is an Exercise Moderate. She values training enough to make time for it, and little more. I don't understand such creatures. It simply does not compute.
Amy never was a serious athlete. She does not love or hate sports or exercise.

She is usually able to overcome the anti-exercise inertia that we all experience. But she gets it done. She knows and believes in what's good for her, the prevention of osteoporosis, the maintaining of strength and balance, and the blood flow to the brain. She has experienced how it makes her feel.

Three to four days per week, Amy runs for approximately thirty minutes and then lifts weights. The resistance exercise is a basic total body battle against free weights and gravity; a few circuits of movements such as squat, push-up, row, deadlift, and lunge variations. With minimal equipment and no travel time, the ceremony is finished within 40 to 50 minutes.

If she's feeling a bit soft, she'll reign in her diet a little. She does it all without drama or fanfare.

This truly may be the absolute best way to go for health. We are finally pinning this down, and it makes sense. A number of studies have suggested that moderate exercise appears best for longevity, and while exercise is critical, the "more is better" mindset needs to go.

Although joggers as a group appear to live longer than sedentary nonjoggers, moderate joggers have lower mortality rates than sedentary nonjoggers.

However, strenuous joggers - people who ran faster than 7 mph for more than four hours a week; or who ran faster than 7 mph for more than 2.5 hours a week with a frequency of more than three times a week - have a mortality rate that is not statistically different from that of the sedentary group.


The dose of running that was most favorable for reducing mortality was jogging 1 to 1.4 hours per week, with no more than three running days per week, at a slow or average pace," the authors wrote.

In truth, the problem may be that the Exercise Moderates are not the ones who feel compelled to work in fitness, study exercise through research and experience, or write health/fitness blogs. They have received the numerous benefits of their efforts. And they have moved on.

Somebody has to take care of the couch potatoes and fitness fanatics.

 - - - - - - - -

This is Amy




She doesn't feel the need to compete at anything.


Amy overcomes many legitimate barriers and the internal inertia that resists movement.


She doesn't need a training partner or app. She does, however, need some music.


Amy can perform one unassisted chin-up but could care less.


She doesn't make a big deal about personal records or set-backs.


Amy doesn't complicate and obsess regarding her diet.




Amy is smart.

Be like Amy!

the best time to train [5:38]

I cleared the area of costumes and toys before moving into the first warm-up set. Racking the weight, I glanced at the clock on the basement wall. It was 5:38. Was it a.m. or p.m.? What does it matter? This writing, the one you're reading right now, has everything on  diurnal and circadian rhythms.

It was just last week that I trained at a massive Gold's Gym in Tulsa equipped with every tool that elevates form and function. It was also loaded with cutting edge distraction; chrome, lights, and every contraption that makes you think you're accomplishing something while actually working very little. The approximate usage was 30/70, respectively.




I have nothing against Gold's, but was happy to be back in my basement. The mega-gym concept would be on it's way out if it weren't for the socialization aspect. People are (hopefully) catching on. The largest barriers to health and fitness are NOT:

1. Equipment - You can get what you call "a crazy lot" done with minimal gear. Weight/fat loss and cardiovascular health are easy. For other goals, a decent home gym that allows you to load up on resistance for the purpose of body recomposition including size/strength gain can be had for $1500. (No you won't acquire super human strength and rippedness by pulling on elastic tubing and waving around 3 pound dumbbells.)

2. Exercise and Diet Gnosticism - Yes we need trainers and rehab people who know what they're doing for the purpose of efficiently achieving specific goals while managing injury risk. But generally speaking, there's not a single American in poor shape for lack of some secret fitness knowledge. "Don't eat (much) crap" and "Find some regular physical activity that you enjoy or at least tolerate" will take 99% of us a long way.

3. Comfort - "No pain - no gain" is totally a half-truth. But to expect the numerous physical and mental benefits of exercise without discomfort is like asking for a shower without getting wet. The stress of controlled loading and impact and striving and straining is the real magic behind resilient bodies and minds.

4. The Great Exception - By definition, we cannot all be exceptions to all the basic rules of human physiology and life as we know it. Yes we are unique individuals. But your special metabolism simply can't gain, lose, improve, tolerate? While everyone else is granted 168 weekly hours to find a few hours to train, that's just not enough for you? You have pain or a disability that keeps you from doing everything?

It's possible that any one of those could be true for the rare exceptions. But for you, in the long-term, I doubt it.

The barriers to health and fitness have always been and will always be:

1. Time.
2. Motivation.

We usually have a choice in whether or not a hectic, no-time-for-anything season of life becomes a chronic condition. Write exercise into your schedule as if it's a life giving, brain saving, body conditioning, stress busting, depression dampening, disease fighting miracle. Because it is.

If attaining fitness means waking up early and packing clothes and driving through traffic before a long work day to do a "shoulders and calves" routine, then I have no time for training either. Training the body as a functional unit is efficient and effective. Unless you enjoy spending 6 days per week watching others flex at themselves in the mirror, feel free to let the body part split routine up to the oily tan body builder guy.

Never under estimate the social aspect of getting out of the home environment and into a crew of like-minded people. On the other hand, some would never get around to training if they had to go out. Either way, find accountability and inspiration to get it done. I'm thankful to train mostly at home with friends large and small (my kids).

I've found 5:38 to be the absolute best time to train, especially when busy and drained, stressed and in need of some perspective. Actually, I always train at 5:38.

Haven't changed the batteries in that clock for years.
 - - - - -

THE key to fitness

Name a physical challenge or goal that you want to achieve. Does it involve speed, strength, skill, or body composition? Lower triglycerides? Shoot 90% from the free-throw line?

Whatever it is, there are many specialists in that particular field offering valuable and poor advice. There are sincere as well as snake-oil entrepreneurs offering worthwhile and asinine products and services.

As one of those people, please allow me to remind you of one thing that may be THE most critical element to achieving your goals. But before we get to that, it's worthwhile to discuss a few honorable and not-so-honorable mentions.

Training equipment is definitely over rated. A motivated person will find a way to get it done. They will either get to what they need or make the best of what's around.

Particular diets and supplements are over rated. I'm not saying that what we eat is unimportant. It's the particulars that are unimportant. Diets work because, in the end, they are restrictive. You are actually paying attention to what you eat, eating more unprocessed foods, and taking in less over all.

If you're trying to get lean, lose weight, or whatnot, find a structured diet plan that you can tolerate, fully commit to it, and muster the courage to stick with it for a while. Nobody said it was supposed to be fun. Then, if your activity level is sufficient, you can go back to a more fun and realistic dietary plan that I call The Not Eating Crap Diet. You know what foods are crap. Don't eat them 90% of the time and you should be okay.

I'm aware that this is an overly simplistic bit of dietary advice. But I do hear about and witness some extreme and even odd behaviors where I say to myself, "I bet that person would be fine if they just made a sincere effort at the basics."

And supplements - even the few supplements that are actually proven to live up to their claims do so by a thread. They add less than 5 percent at most. Read for yourself at Examine.com. I cannot speak highly enough of that site.

Training methods are even over rated to some extent. I do recommend that you find something safe in terms of exercise selection, execution, and rest/recovery. A good training method includes an assessment and establishes rhythm and structure that is compatible with your goals, rather than "mixing it up all the time," which rarely lets you know where you stand. Also, be careful of methods that guarantee that your body will adapt toward two incompatible goals at once. For example, it's not likely that a trained individual can increase their vertical jump 4" and shave a minute off his or her best 5K time.

No matter your particular goals and interests, you can almost always benefit from getting stronger. And that doesn't require fancy tools or complex strategies. And now for what's arguably THE most overlooked and undervalued element of you hitting your goals.

CONSISTENCY.

Consistency is finding a way to reach a steady rhythm of work and recovery, not too much and not too little. Consistency is committing and going at it with gusto but not so much that you burn out or get injured in six weeks. Consistency is showing up and keeping at it when you don't feel like it. Consistency is paying attention, learning from victories and failures, ensuring that in time you are working harder and smarter.

Sure, consistency has its limits. Some still think that drinking Slim fast and setting their sights on running a marathon are great ways to "get back in shape."

At Bonny Lane Club (my basement and yard), 20 Rep Squats are the one thing that best defines what we do. We find a way to get to them week in and week out. We strive to add just a few pounds to the bar each week. It becomes brutal. When we get tired, bored, lazy, or want to switch it up for variety, we'll maybe do a different core exercise. We'll do some dumbbell work outside rather than inside. We'll change the music that blasts while we're under the bar. But the squats stay!

Nobody can sell you consistency. Only you know your life's rhythm. Of course this applies to most aspects of life, so define what is important to you, be consistent, and find a way to enjoy the process. Temper your dietary and activity related goals by maintaining some perspective and gratitude on the plentiful life and times in which we live.


Work smart. Work hard. Consistently.

A Problem with Protocols

Rehabilitation protocols are an important part of physical therapy. They provide guidelines and standards of care to assure appropriate progression after injury or surgery. Protocols communicate expected time-frames for recovery and facilitate the most efficient, high quality healthcare. 

Reading a protocol gives me a sinking feeling. At such and such time, restore this and stop that, this is contraindicated and ensure that you get to that. It sounds so helpful and simple. In practice, protocols are a weight that one person, a mere physical therapist, cannot carry. It feels like juggling 5 bowling pins when your limit is 3.

I understand that "feeling it out" and "let's see how it goes" doesn't cut it when you want to standardize stress applied to surgically repaired tissue. It's no way to define and justify evidence-based practice. But during my 14-year PT career, there have been no ACL or rotator cuff tears or re-tears. There were no broken pins or loose screws. Zero joints have dislocated under my watch. And my offices have thrived as privately owned, independent businesses.

Protocols easily become mindless dictators. Don't answer. Don't ask. Don't try to make sense.

"Okay. Got it. Follow the protocol."

These days, protocol power comes not from surgeons or medical advisory panels, but from accounting departments. Calculated patient encounters, reimbursement rates, and discharge dates drive services rendered. Woe to the patient (and healthcare provider) who doesn't achieve the standard goals within the defined parameters. Protocols give the least credit for the resources invested in people who need care the most.

Protocols are no respecter of persons. There's no formula for our entire system and being. Protocols coldly march forward, day by day, paying no mind to unique body structure and function much less motivation and perspective on what it means to live well. Protocols don't care about your fibromyalgia, stressful workplace, leg length discrepancy, or recently deceased spouse.

And yet protocols are simply one small instance of the health care tail wagging the dog. It's happening everywhere and has effected you already.


As much as I hate what the Affordable Care Act is doing to health care and especially to small businesses, I will resist blaming protocols on President Obama. I know so little, just enough to be aware that the big picture is not so cut-and-dried.

Imagine a time when the patient and provider decide if, when, and how they can be treated. -Sigh-

Nah. That would never work. That would require honesty, transparency, and mass selflessness on behalf of all parties. It would require hope and change from the achievers, the lazy, and everyone in between. This country needs Jesus. No, really.

So this holiday season, encourage your diabetic uncle to find the time and support for an appropriate diet and exercise program. Tell your wayward niece that she really should get out of the house and get a job. And then wish them "Happy Holidays." I'm kidding, of course. Well, kind-a. 

Now where were we? I mean, according to the protocol...