The "feet" picture.  Kinda scary, I know.  Those are feet that are pretty much beat to hell by too many years and miles and miles in various "running shoes".  That name should be outlawed in the first place.  The "heel stompers" that you can buy from countless outlets unnaturally confine your feet, unnaturally cushion your heels to the point that you don't run the way your feet were DESIGNED to run.  The rubber, gel, goo, foam pillows under your heels prevent your feet from experiencing the joy of the run.  You consequently plod along, heel, toe, heel, toe, heel, toe.  In my opinion, and it is just that, everyone should dump those things unless you have some real medical reason to wear them.  Run like you were made to run.  I personally prefer to run in huaraches.  Little more than a piece of rubber out sole laced to your foot with some cord.  If you haven't tried it, you won't believe it.  Start slow,  just a little ways to let your feet live again.  Gradually increase your distance.  I usually run between 3 and 5 miles most days, and have had NO damage, blisters, etc. since I started wearing them.  I got them from InviibleShoe.com., a company which I consider a pioneer in the minimalist running gear arena.  Their link is on the right side of this page under "Useful Links".  Take a look at it.  They have TONS of useful information there.

That's right, defy your mother.  Remember when she said, "Finish that.  There's lots of kids who don't get enough to eat."  The intentions were admirable.  Don't waste food.  Think of others, etc.  Unfortunately, those starving kids are not gonna get that slice of Coconut Cream Pie that got plopped on your desk at work commemorating some innocuous birthday celebration.  Thank them for it, find a time when nobody's watching and dump it in the trash.  That's right....................WASTE IT!  You don't need it.  It's just going to end up encircling your abdomen.  DUMP IT!  If you can politely say "No thanks", obviously that's the way to go, but, as I have often seen, people are offended if you turn it down.  Our society seems to have an obsession with celebrating everything by having everyone eat a big plate full of CRAP!!   Happy Birthday!!  Eat some cake, have big scoop of ice cream on it, and how about some caramel and nuts on top of that?!!
     I'm not saying never eat cake.  I do, and there's nothing wrong with it.  I just refuse to be cornered into eating a big hunk of carbs that I didn't want in the first place, just to keep peace in the office.   The piece that I just surrepetitiously dumped in the trash was an extra 400 +- calories that I don't need today.  If you're gonna eat more, PLAN IT!  Manage the rest of your day's caloric intake so you can afford it.  It's a budget, plain and simple.  Don't take more than you can afford.  Your body uses a certain amount of energy every day, depending upon your activity level.  If you take in more, it goes to fat for use later.  If you take less, it burns off a bit of the stored energy to make up the deficit.   No hocus pocus here.  Just biology.

Remember the term "situational ethics?"  Essentially it means sacrificing your integrity for momentary expedience.  I realized that nearly ALL people in Western Society engage in "Situational Eating (c)" .  They may try and try to eat healthily, to lose weight, only to throw it all out the window because, for example;
a.  The host worked so hard on this dessert, so I really should have some.
b.  The kids left this, and I don't want it to go to waste
c.   It's my birthday, and I deserve a bigger slice of cake
d.   I haven't had home made ice cream in soooooooo long
e.   I have to travel, so there's no way to stay on my usual diet.
f.    I'm stressed
g.   I'm happy
h.   I'm sad
and last, but not least..................................................It's the HOLIDAYS!!!!!!!

Guilty?  Admit it.  I am.  Everyone is to some degree.    
There seems to be a mental "pass" that people give themselves when they want an excuse to over-indulge in food.  Holiday parties are the worst offenders, along with the well-intentioned office employee who wants to "treat" their co-workers by bringing in a dozen doughnuts to the office.   I've seen the office descend upon that box of carbs like jackals on a dead antelope.  Everyone is drowsy and non-productive an hour later when the sugar crash hits, but they'll repeat it the next time without hesitation.   The point is that your eating habits don't have to be tied to external situations.  Eat for nourishment.  Don't eat for fun.  Sorry, but that's what will work.  Our ancestors ate to survive.

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.