I saw a post somewhere recently that said "Running=Medicine".  How true that is!   We have myriads of chemicals to try to force our body functions back to normal after a lifetime of abuse and neglect.  The human body, if healthy, will self-regulate, provided that you haven't abused it or neglected it to the point of no return.  The problem with these medications is that they nearly all have serious and multiple side effects.  Medicine to bring our blood sugar levels down, bring our blood pressure down, regulate our liver, prostate, kidneys, you name it.   If your physician says you need it, then you follow that advice.  The whole point is to AVOID needing it.  I'm pushing 60 now, and take no medicines.   Why?   Dunno.  Maybe good genetics, maybe good luck.  I think it's because I run.  Running helps regulate weight, blood sugar, blood pressure, makes you sweat out the crap in your pores, in your blood, in your body in general.  I think that's the answer.  If you're to the point that you waddle instead of walk, DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!   Geez, don't expect some poor Dr. to have to chemically or surgically fix all the stuff you've been doing to that wonderful machine we call the human body for the last 20-50 years!  I'm just sayin.........

Had unusual amount of stuff to eat over the holiday weekend.  Bratwurst, chips, beer, etc.  Hey, I do it too.  Lesson learned, though;  I noticed that my feet were swollen after all of that.  (TMI, I know).  Laid off the salt for a day and they went back to normal.  Got me to thinking that another thing we need to do to get back in touch with our evolutionary bodies is to knock off the salt.  It makes your body unnecessarily hang on to liquids.   Ogg didn't put salt all over his meat.  Our bodies weren't designed to handle the tons of salt that our society uses every year. 

     A theme has developed here.  Get back to walking, running, sitting, standing, eating, breathing, 'everythingelsing' like our ancestors did it.  Use some common sense with it, of course, but you get the general idea.  It's ok to eat food without seasoning it with a tablespoon of salt.  Salt is a bad habit that we've developed.  I'm as guilty (if not more so) than the next guy.  When you're 20, or 30, or maybe 40 you can get away with a lot of abuse to your body.  After that, you gotta start paying attention and quit doing stupid stuff like eating salt-laden foods, sitting on your butt, drinking beer, etc. or you WILL pay the price.  Heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, stroke, you name it.  All that stuff is.........PREVENTABLE.  We don't have a health care crisis in this country, we've got a 'sitting on your butt eating crap' crisis.  I'm almost 59 years old.  I want to live to at least 100.  Long way to go, and the only way to get there is by taking the necessary steps to guard your health.

Touting the benefits of barefoot/minimalist running.  The whole movement makes sense.  If you see people walking, and look at their shoes, you see feet/toes, crammed into narrow toed shoes, often with a big heel causing your foot to continually slide down to the "point".  No wonder people have problems with their feet!  Began running in huaraches, the flat sandal similar to that used by the Tarahumara Indians of northern Mexico.  They are famous for running hundreds of miles, using only sandals made of tire tread, laced to their feet with leather thongs.  Running in huaraches, or better yet, barefoot is a truly liberating experience!  You must start slow, as your foot strike has to change from the plodding heel to toe gait that many runners have while wearing "running shoes" with heavy padding on the heels and throughout the foot pad.  Once you have done it, though, you realize that THIS is how your feet were designed to work by a million years of evolution.  I realize that the billions of dollars annually spent on the "Running Shoe Industry" is a horrible rip-off.  You won't find a better design than that which exists on the end of your leg already.

I realized something during my morning run today.  Fat is nature's way of telling you to get off of your butt.

I had an epiphany this morning.  The difficulty that people (including me, by the way) have with weight control is, that they try various methods to "control" their diet.  Well, you are fighting a hard-wired, millenia old genetic blueprint that is programmed for survival.  Your body wants energy, and it wants to store it for later when there is plenty available.  You have to give it what it needs, so you stop craving stupid things like ice cream, chips, etc. Your body recognizes these as sources of quick energy.  When you want something like this, you have to "re-learn" how to satisfy your body's request.  When there is an energy source available, if the body feels the need, it will DIRECT you to obtain that energy.  If you keep your body fueled up on good, long lasting food, particularly protein, you will see a much reduced desire for the crap that you have been eating.  Snacking on carrots is a waste of time.  They provide virtually no energy.  Neither do celery, broccoli, etc.  All of those are great sources of vitamins, etc., and you should include them in your diet, but when your body wants FOOD, go for the protein.