Title: |
Vitality for life! | ||
Author: |
Warren Shoeppe | Section: |
General Wellness |
Submitted: |
October 2006 | Expertise base on: |
Experience |
Balance - An interesting concept that means different things to different people. A few realize that balance is vital for a healthy life style with activities that we do just for ourselves. This is the balance between what we consume and our physical activity. Today, many of us are reading labels and choosing foods that provide optimum nutrition. This is a really good step in the right direction. It is also important to realize how carbohydrates affect us, carbohydrates are the primary fuel source for the human body.
I have been involved in the health and fitness industry for nearly 30 years. Unfortunately, it's an industry that does not promote fitness through balance. In its unbalanced approach, it misleads millions of individuals with false hopes and quick fixes. Western society has been built on extremes and it is the extremes that we glorify. Yet this concept brings very little happiness to the general population because no matter how hard we try we will never reach such extremes. As a kid I was told to eat everything on my plate even if I was full, because there were starving people in the world. No wonder - we had all the food.
We live in a new era. As a species we are living longer. As a species the effect of being physically out of balance is manifesting in the health of the general population. Yet all the advertising and health information with which we are bombarded with on a daily basis reinforces the extremes. The new buzz is the low carbohydrate diet but most people do not know what carbohydrates are. Hint: all plant material and their products that we consume.
Don't get me wrong. To lose weight and to get fit, it is essential to decrease the amount of fuel we consume and at the same time increase our activity level. After all, excess human fat is just stored fuel waiting to be used. By decreasing our fuel intake (primarily carbohydrates) and being more active we will lose weight and become fit.
At the end of the day, it is still all about putting daily life into balance. True fitness is measured in months and years but maintained by day-to-day balance in our activities and nutritional intake.
How do we achieve daily balance? Achieving daily balance actually starts with accepting who we are physically and from this starting point to work at being the best we can be. Remember that all the images in the media are to sell a product.
In the 1950's working out was stigmatized - only dumb people lifted weights and smart people used their brains. Now in the year 2004 it turns out that it is the smart thing to exercise and to take care of ourselves by continuing to read labels to become more aware of our carbohydrate intake.
The only person that directly benefits from your exercising and consuming low carbohydrate products is you. Do you want to be pain free and have energy, or do you want to struggle every day for the rest of your life? I'm reminded of a great line I heard in a movie "Get on with living or get on with dying" The choice is yours.
It is not up to the government or the medical industry to take care of you. It is up to you to exercise and eat healthy. Think of it this way, do we complain to the government or the mechanics when our cars do not work when we haven't done a tune up in 2 years or, better yet, try putting the wrong fuel in your car and see how that works for you (sorry Doctor Phil).
Bringing your body into balance gives you the awareness and control of how it functions.
Life is to be enjoyed and lived to its fullest by sampling the wonderful flavors of the world in moderation.
Here is a remarkable story I read once. A professor walks in to his lecture hall caring a box. In the box there was a large glass jar a smaller box with rocks, pebbles, sand and two cans of beers. The professor pulled out the jar and told the class that this jar was life. He then proceeded to file the jar with the rocks until they reached the top he asked the class if the jar was full. The class answered back that, yes, the jar was full. He then filled the jar with the pebbles until they filed the spaces between the rocks. He once again asked the class if the jar was full and once again the class answered back that yes the jar was full. The professor then poured the sand into the jar which quickly filled the remaining spaces in the jar, once again the class answered the jar was full. Finally he opens the two cans of beers and pours them in filling the jar. The professor then turns to the room and says, The rocks represent what is important to you - your family, friends and your health. The pebbles are the activities in your life - your job, where you live and the activities that you do. And finally the sand represents the petty little things that go on daily in your life. He then proceeded to say that you have to fill up your life in this order for if you let your life fill up with the petty little things that bother you, you will not have room for the things that are more important to you - your job, where you live and more importantly your loved ones. One of the student asked what does the beer represent. The professor replied that no matter how full you life is there is always room for a couple of beers.
Exercise is as simple as walking 3 times a week for just 20 minutes. Decreasing your carbohydrate intake is the smart thing to do to reduce your fuel intake. There are many new products in this new developing market. Try it you might like it.
Balance and efficiency is a state of the mind that begins with the body.
