Why has the world made this topic so difficult? Cavemen were in better shape than the humans of today, it’s not rocket science. We’re born healthy for the most part, even as kids eating junk food we maintain a certain amount of natural healthiness. And then laziness sets in. The amount of time spent outdoors decreases, the frequency with which we put junk in our bodies increases, our movement slowly gets less and less frequent. For millions of years, the human body has been a healthy, well-functioning machine. Stop ruining it! If I could give you one piece of advice I would tell you to look to the past to understand how to live healthy. Yes, we have advances in technology and knowledge that have curtailed diseases and helped prolong life but have you ever seen a picture of an overweight caveman? Yeah, I didn’t think so.
1. Stop eating things out of boxes. Somewhere along the way I don’t know what happened. People decided that there was so little time in the day to cook real food that all of their meals started to come from boxes. Cereal in the morning, something out of the vending machine for lunch, maybe some Hamburger Helper for dinner. Mother Earth has provided us with highly nutritious food for a very long time and we’ve gotten good at utilizing it. Stick with what your body knows and put more fresh ingredients down your gullet. Vegetables, fruit, meat, nuts, water.
2. Move. Pretty simple right? How long ago did humans start spending all of their time in chairs? Or on the couch watching TV? I’m gonna go ahead and say not all that long ago in the grand scheme off things. We weren’t made to sit around all day hunched over keyboards. We were made to move and hunt for our food, or run from danger. So start doing it. Hopefully not running from danger, but get out and move. Let your body do what it’s supposed to. You don’t have to chart every millisecond of movement throughout the day to regain some semblance of health. Just get out and move around for awhile, find something active you like to do and do it.
3. Get some sun. Again, how long in the human timetable have we spent the majority of our time indoors? Not that long. Go outside. You’d be amazed at what the outdoors can do not only for physical health but also mental well-being. Besides all the powerful benefits of the sun, being outdoors is how we have lived for millions of years; it’s what we do. Why do you think there’s rampant widespread depression during the winter months? Not only because of limited sun exposure but also because people are stuck inside for nearly months on end and that’s nerve-wracking. And if you don’t believe me, check out New England anytime during the winter and you’ll see just how “friendly” people are.
There you have it. Basic principles, that’s all these are. Doing these things probably won’t change your life, or make you more attractive for that matter, but they’ll help you get back to how your body was programmed. Don’t rush to find some miracle diet because you’re too lazy to put in the effort. Start with these three basic concepts and go from there.
Oh, and a little disclaimer. I’m not a doctor. Although I do rock at Operation, I don’t claim to know how to fix serious health problems. The basics I’ve laid out aren’t made to cure disease or lower cholesterol so don’t blame me when it doesn’t happen.
