The role of diet and exercise

Today, I was on the phone with my older sister discussing how things are now, and how things used to be. According to http://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/adult.html 35.7% of American's are obese. The question that always crosses my mind, why?

Some are quick to point the finger at fast food. Some point the finger at technology making people lazy. One theory I have starts with public school.

In the education system, children are in school for approx. 8 hours per day. Our body is able to go without food for a certain amount of time before going into "starvation" mode where it begins to store fat. If school starts at 7:30am and closes at 2:30-3:30 in the afternoon, when must one eat? As a standard, we eat breakfast right before school, and in some cases we eat right at school. We then eat lunch in the middle of the day (11ish) and then at dinner time around 5pm for most Americans.

To lose weight, or maintain weight, a very important factor is metabolism. Ask any doctor how to maintain a healthy metabolism, any sane Doctor would suggest to eat 4-6 small meals daily. By eating small meals throughout the day, your body metabolizes the food you eat more rapidly. Even if you choose to eat unhealthy foods, you will still
metabolize the foods faster by eating more regularly. http://www.wikihow.com/Increase-Your-Metabolism

Most public schools do not support a 4-6 meal per day habit, it is simply to difficult to manage I imagine. If our kids were allowed more meal time, and less per meal during school would they function better? Would childhood obesity decrease? Would the obesity decrease then bleed into adulthood?

Who has a job? Most of us who pay our own way though life probably have a job right? How much time are you allowed for lunch? 30 minutes to 1 hour is the standard here in our great country, what do we do for lunch? Most Americans' bodies are in starvation mode by the time 12:00 rolls around, so what do you eat? Come on, be honest. Most of us eat anything that we see. What sounds good at the local Deli? "Maybe today I'll go for the salad", "nah, never mind, it probably would't fill me up". We each have arguments with ourselves every day as to what we will eat for lunch. Most of us eat well over what we should for lunch. If you are on a 2,000 calorie diet, about 1/3 of your daily caloric intake should be eaten at lunch. I guarantee most of us eat closer to 2,000 calories at lunch alone. Not because we want to be fat, not because we want to feel bloated, but because it sounded good! Why does CRAP sound good? You know you shouldn't have that double Whopper, but you do any way because you're so hungry! Why are you SO hungry? Your body went into starvation mode, so you felt that you HAD to eat until you were FULL . We eat until we feel that we are full, the thing is that our stomach doesn't realize that it's full until it's too late.

How does this all tie into diet and exercise?

As a human race, we were not intended to sit in front of computer screens all day eating Cheetos and Diet Coke. In our early days, we had to fend for ourselves. As hunter/gatherers we were very active. Our bodies NEED exercise, and we NEED nourishment. You CANNOT get nourishment from a 99 cent Pizza from Walmart. Your body has a very hard time digesting complex carbs. You can't put hot wheels tires on a full size car and expect it to go. You can't put gasoline in a Jet and expect it to fly.

As a people we have more disease than we have ever had. New diseases are created every day it seems, and the medical industry is now marketing direct to the end consumer in commercials. If two people have the same symptoms, let's call it a disease. Let's medicate everybody until we are walking around like mindless drones. I know it sounds crazy, but isn't it!?

According to Neurologist, Richard Saul, ADHD is a fake disorder. Is it true? Hop on google really quick and search for Natural Alternatives for ADD and ADHD, tell me what you get. Diet and exercise. ADHD and ADD are neurological issues. Your brain is a muscle, exercise it. Get outside and exercise. It may be difficult today, it may be difficult tomorrow. Do it for 90 days and it becomes a habit, you will eventually regret all the time you went without it.

As a people, because of what we endure daily with our 8 hour school and work schedules, and because we're only allowed time for 3 meals daily, our bodies are in starvation move EVERY SINGLE DAY. We learned earlier in this post that in order to increase metabolism (which is necessary to lose weight) it is critical to eat smaller meals, more regularly throughout the day. There are exceptions to every rule, but isn't it worth a shot? Take some time to watch a Documentary, Fat Sick and Nearly Dead. You'll think differently about diet, guaranteed!

I challenge you, eat better, exercise, and see how your life changes!