Less Worse ≠ Healthy

I know what you are thinking: "What in the world is this cat doing?" It's called "Joggling." It's what science confirms as the latest and greatest approach to achieving an 8-pack set of abs and ultimate hormone levels. You probably should get to it... chop chop.

We have all heard something similar before, haven't we? And boy have we all taken a stab at getting it to fit our lifestyles.

Sugar-Free is Healthy? “I’ll have the whole sugar-free carton of ice cream, please.”

Brown rice is better than white rice? "Add more to my gumbo, please."

Vaping is safer than cigarettes? "More strawberry flavored nicotine, please."

Fiber will keep me regular? "Better add 3 extra scoops of Metamucil for good luck."

Fat is good for me? "I shall stir my morning coffee with 2 sticks of butter, today."

White bread raises blood sugar faster than wheat? "More Triscuits, please."

Moderate drinkers outlive non-drinkers? "Whole keg, please."

Vegetables are healthy...? Just kidding. Start and keep eating the hell of those.

I won’t belabor the point any more than I have. You get it. We, Americans, are quite savvy at taking research study minutia and turning it into non-consequential, limitless, gluttonous binges. I won’t even bore you with a pithy rant regarding our naivety with our low-fat blinders that we have been wearing for the past 30 years. But, more importantly, what is it about the latest research or marketing strategies that pull us into eventually succumbing to abusing whichever supplement or ingredient that crowns the “worst to least-worse” hierarchical data?

Good question. Let’s break this down a bit and delve in just a tad more.

Psychologically, more so now than at any other point in time, we crave getting and doing, more. We want to build businesses. We want to write books. We want to drop our kids off at school, while cooking, packing, and labeling their lunches ourselves. We want to survive our "8 to 5" so that we can have enough energy to make it to Happy Hour on Monday night to ensure that we catch the game.

It appears that we don’t want to “slow down.”

We don’t want to “trim the fat” (no pun) in regards to our time and making sure that it is well spent with the adequate return on investment.

Hell, we seem to not even want to pause long enough to question and actualize what it is exactly we are trying to accomplish. We just want to do: more and in less time.

And, let’s face it, change (in and of itself) is hard. We experience the most difficulty by attempting to change too many things, simultaneously. I often have to pump the brakes on clients because they are so antsy to get started that they fail to stop and assess what habits of theirs are the most detrimental. They want to throw out all the food in their pantry, yet they don’t know how to grocery shop, properly. They want to run out and get a gym membership only to realize upon scanning their card, filling their bottle, and grabbing their towel that they are clueless as to how to exercise properly. And before I lose all of my “Type A” audience, I am not asking you all to pull the emergency brake and stop. I only ask that you take a minute to plan ahead a bit instead of approaching your health goals like you do with texting and driving.  

And lastly, how could we forget the “all or nothing” mentality? Look at you: it’s 9:30 p.m. and you are searching youtube for p90x knock-offs in hopes of breaking your “daily sweat.” Just because some is good, more is not better. Why not try replacing one of your meals with 2 cups of vegetables and just skip the workout for today instead of jacking up your cortisol before bed?

Novel concept?

Hardly.

Effective?

Yes.

In fact, in regards to your beloved bathroom scale, the veggies will provide more return on attention. But have you heard this advice before? I bet so. Have you complied? Nope. Instead, you’d rather channel your inner circus clown and compete with the bear on the tricycle as you juggle your energy, wealth, and hormonal health down the toilet.

And yet, even circus acts such as this are forgivable.

Skipped your workout because your 7yr old threw up in class? It's okay. Just change your plans for dinner to incorporate less starch and perhaps add one tablespoon of olive oil to make up for the carbs.

Boss threw another pointless, last-minute project in your lap right as you were Snapchatting your usual 4:55 pm eye-roll selfie?

Deep breath… it’s okay. Think ahead as to how you can balance out your time later to prioritize your health. Is that the logical approach that most people take when they meet adversity along their planned path? Ha! Nope. They’d prefer a pleasant stroll down ole Illogical Lane.  If one of our juggling health balls accidentally drops, we aggressively spike the remaining ones into the mud like Gronkowski just scored with them.

See how easy it is to adapt? Keep baby; Toss bathwater. In with the good and out with the bad.

Feel the flow, Happy.

There’s hope for you, yet!

So remember, just because something is labeled as being beneficial for health, doesn’t mean more, of that particular habit or food, is healthy. And health doesn’t mean that we have to continue adding more to our regimen. Contrary to popular belief, substituting sleep in place of more work, sprints, and/or stimulants (I know how some of you roll), is actually better for longevity.

Your call to action:

1. Assess all of the things that you are doing throughout the day that are supposedly beneficial for your health.

2. Write them down.

3. Next, assess all of the habits and routines that you perform that are believed to be detrimental to your health.

4. Write those down.

5. Compare the two. Which list needs more attention?

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