Month: November 2022

“The overfat condition is defined as excess body fat sufficient to impair health. The problem exists in most overweight and obese individuals and can also occur in those who are normal-weight and non-obese, often due to excess abdominal fat. Despite previous indications that the prevalence overweight and obesity is leveling, these conditions are currently at their highest levels in US history” (Maffetone & Laursen, 2017).

Undoubtedly, many Americans are looking to repair the damage done (to their body compositions) over the Thanksgiving Holiday. The word “diet” is likely being spoken with some distain. “Diet”, however, is not a verb—we are not dieting. We eat a particular diet (e.g., “the Mediterranean diet”). Our diet is eucaloric, hypercaloric, or hypocaloric (meaning that we are eating calories sufficient to maintain weight, gain weight, or lose weight, respectively). The content of those calories is of lesser importance than the quantity of those calories (albeit still of some importance—especially for health and performance).

I had long been of the understanding that roughly two-thirds of Americans are overfat or obese. My son recently looked it up and corrected me that it is closer to three-quarters (75%). Maffetone and Laursen (2017) proposes that the percentage of Americans that are overfat  is more like “91% for adults and 69% for children.” (These data are pre-Covid which might suggest that they are even higher in 2022.) The researchers define overfat as “excess body fat associated with at least one additional risk factor of impaired cardiometabolic or physical health.” As such, one may not argue that these are numbers tabulated from body mass index (BMI; body weight in kilograms divided by the height in meters-squared). This suggests that even individuals who are non-obese or of normal weight can have excess abdominal fat.

It would seem clear that the American diet and the obsession with “dieting” is having a negative impact on the health of the American people. As we are amid the holiday season and approaching the start of a new year when Americans resolve to “lose weight” and “get fit”, let’s consider how we got to the point of being overfat, under-muscled, and dangerously unhealthy. Let’s reconsider how we typically approach “getting back in shape” and change our habits and create new habits with longevity and health in mind. Let’s make permanent rather than temporary changes. Let’s consider this not as a personal crisis (as a cosmetic issue). Rather let us address this as a societal issue—as an issue of public health.

Be your best today; be better tomorrow.

Carpe momento!!

Maffetone, P.B. and Laursen, P.B. (2017). The prevalence of overfat adults and children in the US. Frontiers in Public Health, 5:290. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2017.00290

“As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.”—John F. Kennedy

It is Thanksgiving week. As Americans, we prepare to gather on Thursday in celebration. Sadly, it is often a celebration of habit—of mere tradition. Perhaps, this year, we can take the time to be introspective and consider our grattitude (gratitude + attitude). Perhaps, we can examine the good, the bad, the challenging—the wins and the losses–in our lives with grateful thanksgiving. Let it be an opportunity to not only look back but to rejoice in the moment and to look forward. Be grateful for all that has brought us to this very moment in our lives and in our Purpose.

Be your best today; be better tomorrow.

Carpe momento!!

Last night, my high school senior wrestled his first match in the 285 lb class (he weighed in less than 220). He fell in his first two matches because of technical errors. He made mistakes. He learned from them. He knows he has a learning curve (and, unfortunately, there is no one in the room heavier than him or even close to his weight). He failed trying. That is how we learn and how we get better. I was a proud father last night (as I am always).

Growth comes with experiences that challenge us. In exercise physiology, we refer to the “overload principle” (for a body system to adapt, it must be challenged to a level greater than that to which it is accustomed). Well-centered growth (Spiritual, Intellectual, Emotional, and Social, as well as Physical) is no different. We cannot grow (become our better self) without adversity–without challenge–without failure. Dare to fail forward toward you better self.

Be your best today; be better tomorrow.

Carpe momento!

“Gratitude is the healthiest of all human emotions.”—Zig Ziglar

I need a constant reminder to check my grattitude (gratitude + attitude). I am blessed and grateful but grattitude goes beyond mere gratefulness. It is an attitude of gratitude—a sense of gratefulness even for the experiences that are less than favorable. It is the recognition that sometimes “it happens” (Forrest Gump) to good people for good reasons. Grattitude is feeling blessed in all circumstances—not because we see the result of what is happening in this moment but because we see what we are (and what we are becoming) because of all the “it” that has happened to us in our past. What we do with our circumstances is our choice. Grattitude also recognizes that we are not the center of the Universe and that our lives and choices impact others beyond our comprehension. So, note to self: “Be grateful in this moment for the past, the present, and the future.”

“Develop an attitude of gratitude, and give thanks for everything that happens to you, knowing that every step forward is a step toward achieving something bigger and better than your current situation.”—Brian Tracy

Be your best today; be better tomorrow.

Carpe momento!