Reframe your Nutrition Paradigm

I must apologize for not updating this blog for such a long time.

I have been working on a new project that I will reveal before the end of the post. Because my technical skills are quite limited and because I am a frustrated perfectionist, getting everything "just right" took far longer than I had initially envisioned.

Today, I thought I'd chat about the way we view nutrition. Quite simply, we have been conditioned to such a degree that we no longer even understand what constitutes appropriate food for a human being.

I'll give you some examples. How many times does one hear that we should learn how to read labels ... or that we should be taking "this supplement" or "that" superfood?

Or, if we only learn to eat less food, more often ... then somehow we will gain back control of our cravings and "balance our sugar". Blah, blah, blah ...

What hog wash!

The reason we have lost our way is very simple actually. For years and years, in fact millennia, we foraged for what we could get. That was, pretty much, fruit and vegetables, berries and seeds. And roots and tubers if you really want to get down and dirty.

In the last 10,000 years or so we "discovered" fire and learnt how cooking can enhance the flavor of food. We also learnt how to domesticate grains which allowed us to settle in one place and really concentrate on breeding.

And of course cooking meant we now could eat animals and enjoy them, something I'm not sure any self-respecting Neanderthal would have seriously considered prior to that mythical lightening strike.

In the last few decades, maybe a little longer, we also became quite skilled at manufacturing "food" and so ushered in the age of convenience consumption. And this, in turn, negated the need to expend energy foraging for sustenance growing in the wild.

What these developments also meant was that we now eat according to modern dictate, rather than Nature's design.

So we consume calorie-dense, nutrient-deficient food ... and we become fat, slow, sore and ultimately diseased. Symptoms yielding inevitably to condition.

Of course, some people will say that we have adapted to tolerate grains and no doubt will adapt to our sedentary lifestyles and concentrated calories. But it would appear the scientists among us feel there's strong evidence that the human genome could not possibly change that radically, so fast.

Whatever the real truth, I am utterly convinced through personal experimentation, that we respond best to the following:

- living, fresh food versus dead, cooked, or manufactured food. Mother Nature beats mankind's best food chemists hands down, every time.

- plant food versus animal products (which need to be cooked and contain surplus saturated fat, cholesterol and protein).

- organically grown versus commercially farmed fruit and vegetables ... which are theoretically free of chemical residues and, if fresh, are far more nutritious because they come from living soils.

- "low" fat versus "high" fat. By this I mean that no more than 10% of your calories should come from fat (not just "fatty" foods).

- ripe fruit and tender, young greens versus immature fruit and overly mature greens ... because these criteria facilitate digestion that is less energy-expensive.

So ... start your days with fresh, ripe, seasonal fruit so you get a variety over the course of a year. Then, sometime in the afternoon, have some more fruit and/or tender, young, fresh greens. Occasionally eat minimal amounts of avocados, olives, nuts and seeds.

Eat this way and you will feel infinitely better. You will think clearer, articulate yourself better and even appear more intelligent to your slower peers who are no doubt weighed down by the burden of animal products and cooked delights.

You will also be free of addictions (though we prefer to call these "cravings" or "an appetite"), which is an added bonus that should not be under-estimated.

Earlier, I promised to reveal my new project to you, so here goes: you can find a rather snappy landing page here.

Because I am a trust-worthy guy who would not dream of compromising your privacy, I strongly suggest you opt-in to my list and grab yourself a free copy of my report "10 Fat Loss Tips". This will also take you to an information (sales) page that explains everything you need to know about my stunning new book.

Who knows, you might find it quite an eye-opener ...

Personal Training? No Wonder We are Fat!

I must admit I have been incredibly frustrated over the last 18 months or so.

You see, I qualified as a personal fitness trainer in my mid-40's after a successful career in corporate business. Like every other new trainer, I was convinced I could make a huge impact in other peoples' lives.

But after decades in the entrepreneurial trenches my instincts were quick to prickle!

Something didn't feel right.

And it had nothing to do with the fact that most gym bunnies are paid a pittance for being little more than glorified rep counters.

Of course, everyone around me said "what are you waiting for?" Just get on with it. It's what you love ... isn't it? And to be honest, I've had that same conversation with myself many times over.

I have never been one for half measures and I quickly came to see personal training as a very small part of a much larger equation ... that of optimum health.

So I started to teach myself about other aspects of health and physical fitness. To me it seemed pointless working with someone in a gym for an hour or two every week just because that's what trainers do ... and expecting to make an appreciable difference to their knowledge of how to live a healthy lifestyle.

Come on ... not everyone wants to spent time in a gym. And what's the point if you can't also work with them on their other lifestyle habits? And when I looked at what others were doing to solve this obvious basic system flaw, I became progressively more disenchanted.

Lots of trainers sense that somehow they are near the bottom of the food chain in terms of professional respect and capabilities. So those of us driven to improve start to invest in our continuing education.

And I took courses in anatomy, physiology, body work, Gyrotonics, Pilates, Feldenkrais, fascial tensegrity, more anatomy ...

It just never seems to end. A personal trainer can always keep specializing. And one can always keep paying out money to hear the same stuff recycled in different ways, so we can develop more insight and get another gold star.

That's all well and good, I suppose ... but what's the point if we only ever keep sharpening our lazer focus on a tiny piece of the health puzzle? I also kept my eyes and ears open and one thing became increasingly evident.

No matter how many bootcamps, or celebrity experts, or new grades of qualification the industry came up with ... people were still getting fatter and more unhealthy!

So what was the point? What value were we adding? I always gauge a business by the value it brings to the table. All I was seeing was more and more opportunities to spend money gathering qualifications that gave me alleged credibility.

But where was the real value?

Funny thing, any trainer in the industry who reads this will either agree with me totally ... or get all flustered and defensive. But nothing changes.

So here's proof of what a crock this industry has become. And no, I'm not going to have a go at the "Biggest Loser". The rest of the industry seems to have finally sorted out where they stand on that one. Well done lads!

I received an industry newsletter from a well known and highly respected certifying body. Globally revered, in fact. I will not say who, because that would be unprofessional and of course I wouldn't want to jeopardize my career. But, from what I've been seeing lately, you can throw a dart and pick just about anyone of these industry authorities and they'll all be droning on about the same tired garbage.

Here's what caught my eye ... and got my goat even more than usual!

In amongst all the articles by "Mr PhD this" and "Mrs. clinical specialist that" was a recipe for "marbled pumpkin cheesecake".

This got my attention as I already was well versed in the anatgonistic reciprocators of the rectus chuck norris-imus minor and could always learn more about healthy eating.

Under "nutrition profile" (how's that for the grand-daddy of oxymoronic implication?) ... was a pronouncement of all the benefits. "Healthy weight, low calorie, low cholesterol and low sodium". Wow, hows that for ticking some boxes?

Perhaps some lab has figured out how to improve on mother nature?

So I read on ...

Ginger snap cookie crumbs, canola oil, low fat cottage cheese, softened reduced-fat cream cheese, sugar, egg, cornstarch, salt and vanilla extract!

Unsulfured molasses, dark brown sugar, ... I'll stop now! The list carries on with nutmeg, cloves, ginger, cinnamon and unseasoned pumpkin puree. For taste, I presume.

Oh ... and some lemon juice. Must be for the vitamin C. Wonder if that counts as part of our 5-a-day?

I defy any nutritionist or professional body to stake their reputation on the nutritional value of the ingredients above. But this is being touted as "healthy" by the same respected industry leader that wants an application fee from me just so I can prove that I am continuing to invest in my education ... and am deserving of a professional association with their illustrious credentials!

And this is precisely why I cringe at the thought of paying out more money for the privilege of being insurable for another year. Just in case I want to rush out and show some nervous housewife the finer points of a body building split routine. Or how to "burn calories" with 45 minutes on the treadmill (remember your iPod luv).

Ladies and gentlemen ... this is a shocker!

And it's typical. In fact every day you can pick up a magazine, log on to a website with massive page rank, or listen to another self-proclaimed expert with bogus qualifications.

Until the industry wakes up and realizes it has very little to offer beyond motivation, clients will continue to be woefully short-changed.

And I want no part in that!