Five Points of eating, + My comments

Eating can be a real bummer to a healthy lifestyle if you do it for the wrong reason, no matter your age. As I noticed the practice of eating while around others it amazes me how the body is stuffed with unnecessary food or with food that is of no value to the system. It just tastes good, so cram as much in as you can. Also, we now have so many of the “all you can eat” type food establishments that encourage you to eat till you’re stuffed. Recently I was travelling by auto for a considerable length of time, 29.5 hours from Washington D.C. to Texas and I happened to have stopped in a convenient place to eat. I did not recognize it as one of those “fill your gut till your pop, for $6.95 type restaurants” until I was already inside. So I decided I could just get want I wanted in the quantity that I wanted and be out of there post haste. While that is exactly what I did, I still couldn’t help but notice the extremely obese people that were there eating and how the look of passion and desire for the food in front of them totally consumed them. Not only that but as they went back for seconds they could hardly walk because of the obesity that covered their body. It made me want to throw up and get out of there as quick as possible, and even 3 weeks later I still have it on my mind. While there are countries in this world that have starving children, the US of A has restaurants that will stuff your gut, help a person put way more calories in their bodies than they need, and then only charge $6.95, is beyond me.

While I realize the name of my blog is Mature Fitness and most would think all I am thinking about here is exercise that is far from the truth. Along with proper fitness you must have a proper attitude about the fuel that gets you going each day and continues to supply your body the necessary vitamins and minerals that not only give your energy but keep you body full of antioxidants, and fights disease. My philosophy relative to eating is simple, “I eat to live, not live to eat.” I try to keep a variety in my daily intake of food (not to be confused with something called a diet) that gives me all that I need to have energy and fight disease. I also take a variety of supplements that I feel give me that extra edge, since I still continue to compete in triathlons and I must maintain my energy and strength. After experiencing some inflammation in the elbow and hands after a bout with infection from an abscessed tooth last year I have found that a product called Mon A Vie does a great job in fighting inflammation. Seems as though the little acai berry they put in this magical liquid formula does wonders for my inflammation problems. Recently I found a very interesting article about psychological eating, written by Rhonda Fine, a clinical sexologist and psychiatric nurse practitioner at Miami Institute for Age Management and Intervention. Her points are very good ones and if I disagree with any of them I will comment: Five things you didn’t know (her assumption here is that you don’t know these five things, but on the other hand you might) about psychological eating. 1. Too much food-People generally eat beyond what their bodies need. (What did I say about the, all the you can eat restaurants?) More than two-thirds of US. Adults are either overweight or obese, according to the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention. The extra weight puts them at risk for heart disease, erectile dysfunction, diabetes and other conditions not suitable to a healthy lifestyle. My comments: All you have to do is look around and see how the above is put into practice everyday. Most of the obese actually eat for taste, not thinking about how much or what they are eating. I watched two obese people eat the other night in a fine dining restaurant and they had enough food and drink(wine)for Cox’s army(not really knowing how many soldiers were in that famous army). My belief is to eat moderate helpings and always leave something on the plate. 2. Two hungers exist- psychological and physical. Physical hunger is the bodies request for a certain amount of good, healthy food. This hunger builds gradually and after eating it goes away. Psychological hunger is the mind saying, “I want that.” My comment: I do agree with this and a couple of my eating rules are to never eat anything until I feel hunger pains, and never eat food by the way it smells or looks. I also eat with variety in mind, to include color. 3. No satisfaction- Psychological hunger emanates from the same system associated with other forms of abuse—excessive gambling, illegal drug use, addictions. It’s a response to a trigger even if the subject ate five minutes ago. It can build rapidly and there will be no real sense of satisfaction. Instead there will be guilt and shame. 4. Bad choices-Diets (I don’t like this word at all) attempt to change what we eat, and exercise improves stamina, but the decisions made with regard to food are what keep the majority of the population fat. People make bad food choices for cultural and social reasons. Some just don’t know better (or use that as an excuse), some eat because they’re sad or lonely and some have always viewed food as a reward. Also, there are women who believe, “If I’m heavy, I don’t have to have a boyfriend.” My comment-that is a funny assumption that I have never heard, but again this came from a psychiatrist with lots of experience. I thought most women wanted boyfriends, and vice versa, or a life mate regardless of gender. Oh well, live and learn! 5. Healthy attitude-There’s a strong correlation between a good attitude and good eating. Those who really want to change their eating habits will accomplish it. You have to restructure your thinking and habits to fit your goals. My comments-well done article and the 5 points are excellent. Hope we can practice some of these, the healthier we are in our country the less it will cost us in health coverage, food, etc. But, what I have learned over the years is that in the USA we have an abundance of too many things in all that we do, food, entertainment, automobiles, houses, clothing, professional sports, etc., etc. We have no real discipline in our life and that is one of the reasons our obesity is out of control. Just push back from the table, but first get some discipline from the discipline shop first!!

During the past week I have done some bicycle riding with people much younger than me. As we road and talked, one 38 year old said, “I can’t believe you are nearly 70 years old.” My reply is simply, “neither can I but I am determined to live with it.” Then the next question, “what is your secret?” While there really are no secrets I did suggest to him that my strongest recommendation to anyone in his age group or younger should start, NOW, in preparing for being 70. In that I am referring to all that we discussed in the article above. I also mentioned to him that he should become aware of his parents status in life now and remember that you can make healthy lifestyle changes that will fight and reject the almighty DNA you gathered from your parents. Also, remember that your have you own share of DNA that is rightfully yours and you are responsible for developing it. Another philosophy I have been instilling in my mind over the past 6 months is my goal of making the next 20 years my most productive. Fact is I want the next 20 years to be more productive that my last 69. Impossible?? No, since I will simply take what I have learned over the past years and put it to more efficient use, and accomplish more than I have ever dreamed of.

Mike Greer