Category: Scoop

It’s all about the food. Seriously. It’s as simple as that. If you put good, whole foods into your body, your body will be healthier. If you put crap into your body, guess what? There’s no magic to turn it into good stuff.

Sugar? Horrible.

Grains? Not good.

Soy? Not good.

Dairy? Not good.

What is good for you? Meat, vegetables, and fruits (within reason). Will this keep you from catching a cold, acquiring a disease, or succumbing to a pre-existing condition? Of course not. What it will do, however, is give your body the best chance it has to fight off illness and disease. When your body needs strength to fight, it will have it. Why do you think doctors of patients fighting life-threatening issues insist upon healthy diets? (Of course, the definition of a healthy diet may be of concern as many older physicians are unaware of the latest research and trends in nutrition).

My wife and I both found that we get sick less since going Paleo. Whenever I have an injury, it seems to heal faster. My body is reacting to the world around it in a much more youthful manner than it has for many years. That’s not counting the benefits from running and exercise.

I’m 49 years old, and I’m in the National Guard. I run with kids who were often born after I first enlisted in the Marine Corps. I am able to keep up with (and often even pass them on the runs!) these young people because I eat right and exercise. I’m asked often how I do it. I tell them it’s simple: eat good food and don’t neglect your body by being sedentary. Get up, exercise, and live life. Be active, get outside, and move. It doesn’t take much.

Today as I opened Facebook, the memories feature popped up to show me a photo and a post I’d made two years ago. It was a post I had made about flying RC planes with my son and how happy (and impressed) I was with him coming out to the field with me and his skills. At the time this photo was taken, I was pretty happy with how I looked. I thought I didn’t look so large. Compared to today, wow.

I feel so much better now. When I took that photo with my son, I remember that just getting my planes out of the car was a chore and would make me feel winded.Walking out to the field was about all I could do because I was so out of shape. My knees were sore, and bending over to pick up the plane was always an exercise in flexibility that I disliked. And the sweating? So much sweating even when it wasn’t that hot out.

It’s good to be reminded from time to time from where I came in this journey to being healthy. It’s a good motivator to keep doing what I’m doing and to stick with it.

This is something I never, ever thought I would have to write about, let alone admit. I’m considering activities that are fitness-based as fun. I’ve already professed my like of 5k runs, and I’m signed up for a few already. However, I was asked recently to join some friends on some Spartan runs, and I can’t believe I’m writing this, but it actually sounds like something I would have fun with. So, I think I will.

I’ve also been asked to do Go Ruck, and I will be doing some of that, too.

I figure that if it’s something that helps keep me fit and healthy, gives me some more exercise, and is related somehow to my military training and service, then it’s something I might have fun with.

Never think that your likes, dislikes, interests, and goals are set in stone. They evolve, just as we do. Our tastes change (I used to like asparagus: now I LOVE asparagus!), and we grow. What I disliked, I now like. Heck, what I thought I could never enjoy is now something I look forward to (running)!

Never say never. Always look for opportunities to grow. You never know what you will enjoy unless you give it a chance.

Whether it’s nutrition or fitness, the amount of bad information out there far outweighs the good. The problem stems from the fact that everyone has their own opinion or take on nutrition and fitness based on what’s worked for them. I’m guilty of this, although I make no claims that I’ve stumbled across something unique. I used Whole30 and Paleo to get my health in order, and running and push ups to get my fitness back. The most fundamental truth about nutrition and fitness is that the simplest plans are the most efficacious: eat whole foods and exercise. Period.

There’s no need for supplements, crazy plans that have you eat this vitamin, drink that smoothie, use this powder in your drinks, etc. There is no magic exercise plan or routine that will give you rock hard six-pack abs in 6 weeks when you are 100 lbs overweight. If you need to lose 10 lbs or less, just eating right and starting a regular exercise regimen will get you there. If you’re obese like I was, it’s going to take more effort, but the plan is still remarkably simple: eat good food, avoid bad food, and once your body is lighter so you don’t damage joints, start some exercise.

I’ve watched some people start a fitness plan last week, and they were miserable. They were telling me about how sore they were, how they can’t imagine keeping it up, and how they can’t imagine themselves being “Workout people.” When I told them that they need to go slow in the beginning, I was mocked. “It’s not a workout unless you feel the burn!” they proclaimed. I told them that “The burn” is something you should be feeling once you’re already been exercising for a while and made your body strong enough for it. They scoffed at me, yet I’d run three times that week already while they exercised only once.

I’m not an expert, but I have experience as someone who was fat and is now healthy. I used to get winded climbing a single flight of stairs while now I can run three or four miles comfortably. I am admittedly not a body builder, but I know how to get from fat to thin, from couch to runner. You can take or leave my advice, but I guarantee that the way I do things involves less pain and a healthier, safer progress path.