I should probably call this conversations with myself, because I have those....not verbally, thankfully, but introspective thoughts. I've generally been active since I was a kid, and for certain periods, I was VERY active. High school sports were big, and kept you moving most days of the school year. Weekends and summers, I was on my bike, riding all over our small town in Western Kansas, as well as all of the country roads surrounding it. With friends, sometimes alone, I put many miles on that Western Flyer fixed gear bike with the coaster brakes.
In college, the activity slowed down a bit, but took a HUGE spike when I hit the yellow footprints of Marine Corps Recruit Depot, San Diego on a January day, and non-stop for three solid months, pounding, running, grinding me into the best shape of my life, before or since.
I only began running in earnest after my son was born, and began to do a lot of solitary miles in the early morning darkness, when everyone else was asleep. That's a great time to run.
I have had peaks and valleys over the years, as life tends to get in the way of most plans and intentions. I had backed off a bit, but began riding mountain bikes with my son when he was about 13. He rides with a team, and I try to keep them in sight on the trails ;-).
I really like to eat. I like sweet stuff, salty stuff, spicy stuff, sour stuff, etc. At some point, however, you have to decide, "Am I going to have that?" Too much isn't good for you, and I notice, without exception, that if I eat sugary foods, I am stiff and sore the next day. I understand the sugar is at least nearly addictive, and causes inflammation in your body. It certainly does in mine. Food is, historically, and evolutionarily, nourishment. Humans are so inventive, that we have found countless ways of making our sustenance more appealing and palatable. This has, unfortunately, coincided with a huge reduction in the caloric demand necessary to obtain the food. Bad, Bad combination. We are programmed to eat. We do that very well. Processed foods are everywhere. Unfortunately, hypertension, diabetes, heart disease, liver disease and obesity are rampant. We treat them with drugs and surgery, but we cause a lot of them through behavior. I don't have all of the answers. I am no expert, just an observer. If I, for one, want to age the way my genetics want me to, I have to be sure to eat the way those genes are expecting, and stay active as well.
In my opinion, the BEST foods for you are those that you can catch, kill, pick, or dig up. Once those basic ingredients are combined with salt, sugar and spices, you are pulled into the trap. I do it, you do it, nearly everyone does it. At some point, you need to say, enough is enough. I'm grabbing myself by the lapels and dragging myself back to the health that I was born into. Decide now, or decide when you get that devastating diagnosis. Up to you..................
In college, the activity slowed down a bit, but took a HUGE spike when I hit the yellow footprints of Marine Corps Recruit Depot, San Diego on a January day, and non-stop for three solid months, pounding, running, grinding me into the best shape of my life, before or since.
I only began running in earnest after my son was born, and began to do a lot of solitary miles in the early morning darkness, when everyone else was asleep. That's a great time to run.
I have had peaks and valleys over the years, as life tends to get in the way of most plans and intentions. I had backed off a bit, but began riding mountain bikes with my son when he was about 13. He rides with a team, and I try to keep them in sight on the trails ;-).
I really like to eat. I like sweet stuff, salty stuff, spicy stuff, sour stuff, etc. At some point, however, you have to decide, "Am I going to have that?" Too much isn't good for you, and I notice, without exception, that if I eat sugary foods, I am stiff and sore the next day. I understand the sugar is at least nearly addictive, and causes inflammation in your body. It certainly does in mine. Food is, historically, and evolutionarily, nourishment. Humans are so inventive, that we have found countless ways of making our sustenance more appealing and palatable. This has, unfortunately, coincided with a huge reduction in the caloric demand necessary to obtain the food. Bad, Bad combination. We are programmed to eat. We do that very well. Processed foods are everywhere. Unfortunately, hypertension, diabetes, heart disease, liver disease and obesity are rampant. We treat them with drugs and surgery, but we cause a lot of them through behavior. I don't have all of the answers. I am no expert, just an observer. If I, for one, want to age the way my genetics want me to, I have to be sure to eat the way those genes are expecting, and stay active as well.
In my opinion, the BEST foods for you are those that you can catch, kill, pick, or dig up. Once those basic ingredients are combined with salt, sugar and spices, you are pulled into the trap. I do it, you do it, nearly everyone does it. At some point, you need to say, enough is enough. I'm grabbing myself by the lapels and dragging myself back to the health that I was born into. Decide now, or decide when you get that devastating diagnosis. Up to you..................
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