People have never been fatter, sicker and weaker than they are now. Whenever I travel to the US I am blown away at how many people are fat and grossly out of shape. Canada is getting there too but seems to be a decade behind or so. I was in Walmart here in Calgary the other day and literally became worried about Western Civilization.
Why are fat kids drinking slurpies while their parents load the grocery cart with cheap processed poison a common site now? Obesity and diabetes are epidemic in North America. Why? Unfortunately the common response to being obese seems to be taking drugs and then as a last resort surgery. It drives me crazy!
The solution to the obesity epidemic is so simple and free that I don't understand why this is even a problem. Hey, I was fat too, and after a little reading and self searching I have never struggled with my weight again. All we have to do is look back before our world changed and conspired to make us fat and weak for profit. Look back at how people lived before being 30% body fat was considered normal.
Before the industrial revolution:
Eat
People ate unprocessed foods. They did eat a lot of grains, but their grains were actually wholesome and were eaten to fill a hungry belly more than anything else. Meat was craved, and veggies were always beside them.
Do not listen to anything you ever see on TV about food, especially supposed health food. If it comes in a wrapper and has any chemicals in it, it is not healthy or natural, despite what Kelloggs and General Mills would have you believe.
I am a big believer in the Paleo diet and as a result think you should only eat what nature has provided humans for thousands of years.
Eat This:
* natural or organic meat
* tons of veggies
* some fruit
* nuts
* natural full fat yogurt
* berries
* fish, especially fatty omega-3 fish like wild salmon
Do not eat this:
* grains
- don't believe the hype, even the most natural grains are filled with phytoestrogens and phytades which actually prevent the absorption of nutrients
* milk
- it is basically chemical sugar water now, it is so far removed from what comes out of a cow that I don't think anyone should drink it
* anything processed (in a package or wrapper)
* alcohol, obviously
* sugar
- it promotes cancer in the body and actually feeds cancer cells
* corn
- it is a grain not a veggie
- corn derivatives like high-fructose corn syrup are killing our children with obesity and as a result diabetes
I should mention that nobody is perfect when it comes to eating well, especially me. The idea is to stay as true to a natural diet as possible so when you do screw up at a party you are not going to fall into a diabetic coma.
Sleep
Before TV and computers do you know what people did when it got dark? They slept! They slept for about 10 hours a day compared to our current norm of 5-7.
In fact, Sleep is so important to weight loss and physical health that preventing it was a favorite torture method of the Soviets. Your body needs sleep to recover from damage and stress, it is how you repair yourself. Forget about late night TV and go to bed early. You will lose weight and feel better almost immediately.
Did you know that Cuban Olympic weight lifters used to sleep 9 hours a day and then nap for 3 hours? I leaned that from Dan John's site. They did this to recover from the stress of training and to keep their weight down to stay competitive in their class. I actually tried this for a few weeks a while back and never felt better. It was unreal!
Exercise/Play
Imagine a world of no cars. A world where if you needed to go across town you actually walked there, even if it took a few days. Maybe you rode a horse instead, but that is still fairly physical. Not to mention that they actually had to physically work each and every day just to survive. From hunting to building to carrying things, people burned some serious calories just living. Today people sit on their asses all day and then might hit the gym for an hour or so before going back to sitting. Unless you are moving for 8 hours a day you are sedentary, so stop thinking your 3x a week gym schedule should be getting you lean!
You need to train hard and often to really be physically fit. Unless you are an elite athlete you should vary your activities as much as possible. I recommend six days a week of good solid activity and one day a week of pure rest. Our lives are incredibly sedentary so six days a week of varied activity will not be too much as long as you are sleeping and eating correctly. Before you surf along to a website that tells you it is OK to not exercise often and you can have abs too, remember that you can make exercise fun. It doesn't have to be a chore. Here is some direction:
* Sprints, 1-2 time a week
* Lift heavy stuff, 3 time a week
* Lift light stuff for high reps, 2-3 times a week
* Long slow cardio, hiking or biking, not jogging, 1 time a week
* Play, 1-4 times a week
- sports, goof around on a jungle gym, just have fun with your workouts!
* Take the stairs
* Walk or bike to work
* Go for a walk at lunch time
* Find excuses to exercise without exercising!
To sum it up, being healthy and looking like it too is really simple.
Eat a diet consisting of natural foods that are high in nutrition and low in empty calories.
Sleep as much as possible, 10 hours is a good start. Just turn off the boob tube and go to bed! Maybe even bring your spouse with you there a little early;)
Exercise hard and often but make it fun. Join a sports team, go for hikes with your significant other, and don't be afraid to lift some iron to keep that muscle on. Vary your activities so you aren't bored and going through the motions.
In summary, do exactly the opposite of what all the fat people are doing and you will look and feel great.
Original article source: http://kettlebellplanet.blogspot.com/2010/05/eat-sleep-and-play-to-be-young-and-fit.html
