Physical Health Not Guaranteed

I've taken a different approach to life than my entourage. I don't smoke/drink, I workout regularly, I read, I eat well... I know that, while life doesn't offer any guarantees, these habits decreases the chances of something going wrong with my body.

Doesn't it make sense that if you take care of your body it's more likely to function better? Common sense, however, isn't common to all. I know people that smoke because it helps them maintain a "healthy" weight. How does that work?

In the end, we're not going to make it out alive. It's not about living forever but having a good functioning body for as long as possible. All we can do is find ways to decrease the chances of having problems as there are no guarantees in life.

There's Blood on The Salad

Some vegans seems to believe that their life choices has little to no impact on the environment when the reality is that there's blood in the salad. If you ask any farmer, they will tell you that in order to grow crops they have to kill hundred of thousands of creatures whether it be insects, bird, squirrels, deer... or whatever else is negatively impacting the crops.

This isn't to say that being vegan is just as bad as not being vegan. What I'm saying is that being vegan doesn't remove a person from the problem nor does it make them a saint.

There's a real need in finding methods of growing crops that isn't as destructive on the environment as it is now. If the problem is that we've destroyed millions of acres of habitats in order to grow our crops then perhaps the solution is to grow food at a smaller , more personal, scale. Would more people growing their own food be better for the environment than having millions of acres dedicated to crops by a single entity? 

Many companies are finding ways to reduce their carbon footprint. Is there anything else that can be done to help making crops less impactful on the environment? 

We Need to Rethink Consumerism

It's crazy to think that a bag of chips I used 25 years ago is still in a landfill somewhere. According to streetroots.org, the average American will produce 102 tons of trash in his lifetime. Multiply this by the almost 8 Billion People on the planet and it's not difficult to see that we have a problem on our hands.

How did we get here?

We got here through a series of small innovations designed to make our lives easier at the expense of our planet. We got here by replacing paper bags with plastic ones, glass with plastic, towels with paper towels... Someone is profiting from our desires to live a simpler life at the expense of our habitat. We could blame companies for introducing these "innovations" in our lives but the blame ultimately falls on the consumer. Afterall, we wouldn't have a market for paper towels if people didn't buy them.

Have you seen a Swiffer commercial lately? They literally show you how easy it is to clean and then put the thing in the trash. Commercials are training us on how to use those "single use" products and how to disposed of them. 

"It's as easy as throwing it in the trash". Easy doesn't make it right now doesn't it?

We need more reliable, recycle products. We, consumers, must look into everything about our products and choose the ones that are friendlier to the environment. While it starts with the consumer, I also think that business could do a better job at leading us in the right direction just the same as they did lead us in the wrong direction.

Things need to change now...

Read the Product Labels of Processed Food

Some people close to me are quick to point out the adverse effects of eating too much "Spinach" or "Broccoli" or what ever other fruits/vegetables I eat a lot that they happen to notice. While I can certainly understand that eating a lot of a good thing can be detrimental to someone's health those same people don't seem to see their eating habits as being problematic. I've had people tell me that eating a bag of cherries was bad for me yet they were averaging 2L of "diet" pop a day. How can eating a bag full of cherries be worse than drinking multiple liters of Pop?

I've first notice this sort of problem roughly 10 years ago when I was part of a health/wellness MLM business. The product offering included such things as plant based protein, fruit based energy drinks, freeze dried anti oxidant products... the entire lineup of products consisted of things to help with someone's health or at least was heavily marketed as such. 

The first thing everybody did, when handed such a product, was to read the label which is something you should do but I've always wondered how many people that read those labels also read the labels of pop or processed food products they purchases from the store. 

When's the last time you saw a commercial for Broccoli? Raw ingredients don't typically need commercials but processed food does. The reason why some people don't see a problem with drinking multiple litter of pop is because marketing makes it look like it's an inoffensive product. When's the last time you saw a diabetic, or someone overweight, do a commercial for pop? 

Every processed food commercial tries to associate happiness with their products. It's always about people having fun, smiling, while consuming the product which makes it appears like it's not poison in a box/can.

Generally speaking, for food and beverages, the more ingredients it has the worse it is for you especially if the list includes ingredients you can't even spell out properly. What I've noticed in recent years is some ingredients were introduced with inoffensive naming, such as Splenda, that makes the product seems better than it is. While Splenda sounds better, as a sugar replacement, than "Aspartame", it's still suffers from the same problem - what the hell is it? We know what sugar is and what problems it can cause if we eat too much of it but what will Splenda do when we eat too much of that? 

Read the labels and consume and put greater effort in buying single ingredient products.

The Every Day Stranger

"Have you ever had a stranger remove your clothes?" was something I was asked recently by a nurse who shared the struggled of caring for patients with Alzheimer's disease. She said that some people can be difficult to care for because they simply don't remember you even though you've been caring for them for months/years and every day is like a stranger coming in their lives to invade their privacy.

I knew Alzheimer was about forgetting things yet I never thought about it from the perspective of the carer. If a stranger came to me with the intention to remove my clothes I would become violent which is likely the response some, if not all, Alzheimer's patients have depending on how far into the disease they are.

It saddens me to think that this is the struggles my grand mother is likely going through with her carer and its going to be the fate of many of us as 1 in 9 people will have Alzheimer in their lifetime. I can only hope that one day Alzheimer will be added to our list of treatable diseases. Until then, I guess the only thing we can do is try to live such a lifestyle that minimizes the chances of getting the disease even though there's never any guarantees that we won't have it.

When Does Addiction Become a Problem?

It's socially acceptable to be young and do crazy things but their comes a time when it's expected that you leave these things behind in order to become a functioning member of society. Terms, such as "alcoholic", is most often associated with an adult more so than a teen who might be getting drunk every weekend.

When does addiction become a problem?

It becomes a problem when the addiction takes precedents over the responsibilities of the individual. While responsibilities can come at any age, it usually becomes more relevant with time. Teens, freshly out of high school, don't usually have the same responsibilities as an adult a few years into his career.

There's an extended family member of mine who's an alcoholic and decided to forgo most of his responsibilities for his life, in favor of alcohol, giving that responsibility to his children instead. His eldest son, at a young age, had to work simply to pay bills that should've been paid by his father. This went on up until the dad became sick and had to be placed in an assisted living home. The son was given the choice to care for his father or leave him in the assisted living home. What would you of done in this situation?

If you're battling an addiction then you're sole, most pressing, responsibility is on self-recovery. Seek help not only for yourself but for those around you. There's nothing as painful as seeing someone you love struggling with such daemons.

In Canada, various programs/helplines are available.

When Overtime Impacts Your Decisions Making Abilties

Most employee agreement type of contracts have clauses about overtime requirement. In some cases, working longer hours may help but if it occurs too frequently then the quality of the work is being sacrificed for quantity.

Jeff Bezos said in an interview that he has at least 8 hours of sleep because most of his work is about making decisions and you make better decisions while you're well rested. 

We may not be making the same types of decisions as Jeff Bezos is making but we're making decisions non the less and I'm sure they're better with a well rested mind than otherwise.

I consider myself lucky that I can count on my hands the amount of time I worked overtime where it negatively impacted my sleep as many have to go through this on a weekly basis. If this is your situation I would encourage you to look for other opportunities in your field or otherwise. If you keep doing this, in the longer term, it may have farther reaching consequences than simply negatively impacting your decisions making abilities.

Vaccine - The Choice that Isn't One

"Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts."

-Daniel Patrick Moynihan

When we only think of ourselves, it's easy to say no to a vaccine but we have to remember that these, important, decision doesn't only impact us. It impacts our family, friends and strangers both near and far - all good and decent people that deserve to live a life free of deadly diseases.

While I can certainly understand the fear some people have in regards to vaccines we can't, however, deny it's efficiency as there are many more people surviving a vaccine than people surviving the disease the vaccines were designed to protect us against.

There's no choice in regards to vaccines designed to protect us against an infectious, deadly, disease. Not taking those types of vaccines means that you are a potential risk to yourself and your entourage in spreading the infection. It's our duty, as individuals, to insure that we don't become a vehicle for infections for diseases with a high mortality rate.

If you choose not to take the vaccine, you potentially become a danger to yourself and others. It's illegal for anyone to kill someone else; why is it legal for someone to spread a deadly disease? We could argue that the method of killing is different but the result is the same from the victim's perspective. 

Being responsible for spreading a deadly, infectious, disease may end up killing more people than a knife, or a gun, ever could in your hands.

Be part of the solution and get vaccinated. 

Body Positivity But Don't Forget About Your Health

Body positivity is a great movement that helps put light on the issue of unrealistic beauty standards. It's about accepting your body for what it is. However, in the case of being overweight (or under weight), accepting your body and accepting the health issues that may come with it are 2 different things. One can feel beautiful, while not fitting in the unrealistic beauty standards set by various marketing companies, while still looking out for one's Health.

"You can't change what you can tolerate."

-Myles Monroe

Accept yourself for who you are but don't accept your health problem if there's something you can do about them. Doctors are quick to give us drugs for the various ailments when really they should encourage people to make better life choices.

When I first started on my fitness journey, I used to think that having big arms would make me happy. Then I got big arms and it didn't make me happy.  Then I thought that if I had bigger legs then I would be happy but it didn't... it took me a while to realize that being happy isn't tied to how I look in the mirror. There are just as many people slim and depressed than they are people that are overweight and happy. 

I will say this, however, how you feel and what you eat, or do with your body, is directly related. If you don't exercise, and eat like junk, you will be more likely to feel like junk than if you exercise and eat what your body needs.

Feel good about yourself but don't forget about your Health.

We Should Be Better Than the Spartans

You can probably tell that I've been reading about Greek history based on my few recent blog posts. Who ever read about Greek history likely learned about the reputation of the Spartans. For those of you who haven't, the Spartans were a Greek military society who's military, and fitness, prowess are forever remembered as being the best of its time.

If I was in charge of a nation I would make it like Sparta - not from a military perspective, as I'm not a man of war and I believe that the only war we should be fighting are the ones found withing ourselves, but from a fitness perspective.

Wouldn't it be great to live in a society largely focused on fitness? It's kind of weird to live in a society that understand the various issues the body can have if it's not treated properly and yet we "fix" those issues via medicine rather than lifestyle changes.
The Spartans didn't know anything about heart diseases, cholesterol and high blood pressure but they understood that being fit meant that they performed better on the battlefield. We know more about fitness, dieting, diseases... than the Spartans did and yet so few seems to be taking advantage of this knowledge. With all the knowledge we have we should be remembered as the fitness civilization in history but there are far more people overweight than people that are fit.

"Without knowledge action is useless and knowledge without action is futile."

-Abu Bakr

The knowledge to be fit is available to us all but few are consuming it and even fewer are applying it. You don't need to understand everything to get some good results you just need to start. If I had any degree of control over a nation fitness is definitely something that I would promote. Vote for me?

Freedom IS about Wearing a Mask

"If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be."

-Thomas Jefferson

It is natural for us to believe that freedom is the opposite of law. We would think that freedom means that I can do anything that I want but in reality you're only free to do anything that you want for as long as you don't step on someone else's freedom. 

If we were to remove the laws related to how we use the road the end result would be chaos and definitely not freedom. It's illegal to drive at top speed, or while being drunk, because doing so endangers other people - doing so steps on other people's freedom to use the road.

We need a minimum set of rules so that our actions don't negatively impact someone else's freedoms. 

"Every man should be responsible to others, nor should any one be allowed to do just as he pleases; for when absolute freedom is allowed there is nothing to restrain the evil which is inherent in every man."

-From Book VI (chapter 6) of "Politics" book by Aristotle

I can't help but think about the road scenario whenever someone says that being forced to wear a face mask, to slow/stop the spread of Covid-19, goes against their freedom. By not wearing a mask they are making the road less safe for all of us the same way as if we were to remove the laws that pertains to the road. In-fact, a lot of our freedoms are at stake if we don't do our part to stop the spread of the virus. If we can't control the spread of the virus then how long do you think restaurants, bars and other public places will remain open?

It's true that someone can say "I don't care if I get sick" but what about those around that person that don't want to get sick? Why are some people being so selfish about this? Some people changed their minds once they actually got sick. We just can't wait around for them to learn this lesson the hard way. 

It's easier to fight a virus than it is to fight people's arrogance. Those so called "Freedom Fighters" believe that history will remember them has heroes when in fact they will be remembered as one of the reasons why this virus stuck around for so long and why things were shut down longer than it needed to be.

You're Enough

Does anyone ever feel like they're perfect the way they are? Or are we all feeling inadequate in some way? When will we ever feel like we're enough or just as good as anybody else? Why is it that the perfect picture of ourselves never matches our reality?

"Other people see in us what we see in ourselves." 

-David J. Schwartz

Life insecurities is getting in the way of living to the fullest. To just be and let it be sounds simple but it definitely isn't'. This isn't something that becomes better with age as I've seen many people in the last stages of their lives still not being at peace with themselves. It's something that we first need to identify as a problem and work towards improving.

"The key to winning what you want lies in thinking positively toward yourself. The only real basis other people have for judging your abilities is your actions. And you actions are controlled by your thoughts. You are what you think you are." 

-David J. Schwartz

It's difficult to feel confident when we feel inadequate. What  can we do to work on this? We need to attack this problem on two fronts:

1. First, and most importantly, we need to think positively towards ourselves. Sure, we may have some bad sides but we also have some good sides. There are good and bad things in all of us - this is what being human is all about.
2. Second, there are some things about us that we definitely need to change. If we have addictions, for example, it's not enough for us to simply think positively about them - we need to get rid of them altogether.

To recap, think positively about yourself, identify the things that are a nuisance and fix them. Even when we fail to change, just the thought of seeing ourselves as a project to work on is sometime enough to see the better side of us.

It is better for us to identify our own problem than to have others identify them for us. Fixing ourselves is our responsibility - nobody can do that for us.

Look Your Best But Don't Overdo It

*David by Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni

We're a society that's very appreciative of beauty which places a, often unfair, pressure on people to look a certain way. There are some good sides of this as it sometime inspire people to make dietary, or lifestyle, changes in order to bring out, what is widely considered, attractive physical features. This becomes a problem, however, when taken to extremes. Some people don't feel pretty unless they look like they can lift a car.

The pressure to look a certain way can be so great that some people will get all sorts of surgeries to "fix" what they think is wrong with them physically. If you have no reason to get a new nose, other than you think it's too small or big, then why do it? Note that there are no surgeries that will allow us to look 20 years old once we reach the ripe old age of 60. Plastic Surgeons are obviously not against this trend as it allows them to own a few cars and a condo in the Bahamas.

"Exterior beauty without the depth of a kind soul is merely decoration."

-Anne Marie Cummings.

On one side, it's great to live in a society where we have the option to change our physical appearance but I hate the fact that it is so widely used for the wrong reasons. Somewhere along the way, we have lost sight of what true beauty is. It's not about how you look as much as who you are. There are no surgeries available that can fix a broken soul. It is far more pleasant to be at the company of someone with a kind heart than someone with nothing but a pretty face.

I Miss the Gym

Those that don't go to the gym, on a regular basis, don't understand the true meaning of "missing the gym". When I share this, with my non-gym friends, they tell things like "well why don't you just workout at home?" or "why don't you just go outside for a walk?". The gym is more than just a place to exercise - it's a sanctuary. It's like a church for millennials; a place where we go to exercise and mingle with people of similar goals. It's a place filled with people that understands the true meaning of discipline and hard work. It's a place to forget about your problems and focus on the moment.
Sure, I do some workouts at home with the tools that I have but it's nowhere near as good as a proper gym. I feel "flabby" in places I wasn't flabby before.

I was recently asked "what is the first thing you're going to do when the quarantine is over?" and the first answer that popped in my head is that I was going to the gym. Assuming I'm still working when the quarantine is over I fully intend on taking a few days off to go workout.

What's is the first thing that you'll be doing after the quarantine is over?

Don't Inject Disinfectant

I'm not a fan of the American President but I do find the man entertaining. His latest comment about potentially injecting disinfectant to kill the virus, which I'm sure he's going to deny as fake news, is but one of many outrageous claims that no human being should think let alone say.

He repeatedly said, during that interview, that he's not a Doctor. We know you're not a Doctor, Mr. President, so please stop conjuring up cures and suggesting them to those that voted for you without, first, talking to a Doctor. Your voters, Mr. President, believe everything you say so don't say anything that can potentially kill them.

• Your voters believed you when you said you were going to build a wall using someone else's money.
• Your voters believed you when you said you were going to make your tax return public.
  
• In August 2016, your voters believed you when you said "I'm going to be working for you. I'm not going to have time to go play golf."
• You voters believed you when you said you were going to make America great again by hiring the best of the best.
• Your voters believed you when you said....

I understand that in politics you sometime make promises that you can't keep but you can't, and I can't believe this has to be said, suggest to your voters that they do something that could potentially kill them because it's your responsibility to insure the security of those people.
A mother will often tell a child not to "drink this or that" because it can kill the child. It is weird to live in a world where a President is suggesting that we consume things that can kill us.

No, Mr. President, you are definitely not a Doctor.

America - Stop Your Quarantine Protests!

America stop your quarantine protests! Look I get it you have a President that likes to say "Fake News" at what ever facts is thrown at him but you can't just wish a Pandemic away.

Some of you don't believe this is real because you haven't seen it with your own eyes and you don't trust anyone else but yourself. Having this type of mentality during a Pandemic can make you sick or kill you. If you are attending gatherings, and not respecting the lockdown rules, you are not only endangering yourself and your entourage but you're also extending the time it will take for everything to start up again.

America, you're "number 1" in a lot of things and it's great but being the Country with the most cases of Coronavirus is nothing to be proud of. The lockdown isn't an attack on your freedom but an attempt to get rid of a deadly virus.

The Economy is going to change because of this Pandemic. If we remain in lockdown for too long this will obviously have a negative impact on the economy but if we start everything back up again, and everyone gets sick, then this will also negatively impact the Economy. There's no way around it but we need to take the route that has the potential to save the most lives and, at least for now, that's with the lockdown.

Please stay home and only get out when you need to!

It's A Pandemic - Stay Home!

"It is not the most intellectual of the species that survives; it is not the strongest that survives; but the species that survives is the one that is able to adapt to and to adjust best to the changing environment in which it finds itself..."
-Charles Darwin in his “Origin of Species” book.

There's a difference between courage and stupidity and we're seeing this first hand with the blatant disregard of public safety some people are exhibiting by not altering their daily activities following the pandemic state of the Covid-19/Coronavirus. We have to keep in mind that this Pandemic started with one person.

Even though you're not afraid it doesn't mean that you, or the people that you come in contact with, are immune to the disease.
Even though you're not at risk of dying it doesn't mean that the people you come in contact with won't die.
Even though you live somewhere that doesn't have many infected it doesn't mean that it won't change rapidly.

I saw a funny, but true, comment on Facebook that said "Your grandparents were called to war. You're being called to sit on your couch. You can do this."

We'll make it through the Pandemic but the amount of death will largely be determined by how many people are able to adapt to the quarantine restrictions. We're past the point where we can simply wash our hands and call it a day. We need to separate ourselves from the masses, as much as possible, and follow the guidelines put in place by our respective Government.

The question isn't whether or not we'll get through this, because we will, the question is will it be 50,000 deaths or will it be 1 million? We all need to do our part in order to contain this as much as possible and It starts with you!

Loosing Weight

Loosing weight is difficult when you don't know how to go about it. What most people don't realize is that going to the gym to exerciser is the easiest part - the diet is the hardest.

The Diet:
I'm not a believer in diets that cut out a specific food groups in order to achieve weight goals. Currently, the "Keto" diet is all the rage but I can't see how it can be sustainable, longer term, considering that your body needs the nutrients that the diet is removing. You can only go so long, without a food group, before you start noticing problems.
No energy? Body aches? Feeling depressed? Those could all be problems related to the diet. The best diets include items from every food groups sized according to your goals.

The Exercise:
It is possible to loose or gain weight simply by dieting but it's best to accompany a diet with a good exercise regiment tailored to your goals. Remember that the diet needs to compliment your workout - not go against it. If your goal is to loose weight, and you're not noticing any changes after 3-4 months, it could be because your calorie intake far exceed the calorie burnt during your working. You can't outwork a bad diet because it's easier to consume calories than it is to burn it. It can take 30 minutes just to burn the calories you got from eating a cheese burger. Think about that next time you eat a burger and you're trying to loose weight.

The Rests:
Resting is important in order to loose weight and is probably the easiest thing to implement. When we rest, it not only regenerates our energy but it also helps with healing our broken muscles.

The Discipline:
Another thing to consider during your wellness journey is the discipline required to reach your health goals. Weight goals are the easiest to make but they are also the easiest to break. "Cheat meals" can turn into cheat days, weeks, months and next thing you know you've quit on yourself entirely.

Loosing weight is possible. Set the goal, follow your diet, exercise appropriately and do it even when you don't feel like it and you'll do it.

Should Cigarettes be Illegal?

Tobacco companies were recently sued by a handful of individuals because cigarettes are bad for your health. First of all “duh?”. Second - Why is this still on sale? Why are people still smoking?

It is now legal in Canada to smoke Cannabis. Cannabis is often used in the medical field to treat various diseases such as anxiety and glaucoma. If you smoke cannabis responsibly there's not much that it does to you in the long run. Cigarettes, on the other hand, have been proven to cause various diseases. Tobacco companies have been putting all sorts of chemicals in them to intensify the addiction smokers have towards cigarettes - making it very difficult to stop once you start.

Why do people even start smoking today knowing all of the negativity surrounding cigarettes? I remember as a teen, those that smoked were considered "rebels". It was a way for them to show their disdain for society. It was "cool" and maybe it still is for teens of today.
Now that I'm an adult, I get a totally different feeling when I see people smoke. When I see a teen, I think to myself "well he doesn't know any better" but when I see an adult smoke I always ask myself "why? what's your excuse?"

Why is it not illegal?
Back in the 1920s, some countries had made it illegal to buy alcohol - it sure as heck didn't stop people from drinking and it basically just added fuel to the ever expanding black market.
Cigarettes would have the same result. By having it legal, the government can at least get a cut of the profit, via heavy taxes, and regulate its use.

I do find it kind of silly for people to smoke, knowing full well the risks involved, and then sue tobacco companies when health problem arises. I mean, have you ever seen a box of cigarettes before? The potential health issues are written on the box itself.

Stay away!

For Our Planet's Sake!

We know for a fact that plastic is killing our planet then why do we continue using plastic, that can't be recycled, in our products?

According to plasticoceans.org there's an estimated 8 million tons of plastic that makes their way into our oceans. Some of that are getting in fish and ultimately our food.

Let's think about that for a minute.

If you buy a bottle of water, the bottle is recyclable but not the cap. Why the heck not? How many caps makes their way into our oceans?
When you buy a box of chocolate, the box is made of cardboard but the chocolates are placed on a plastic surface, within the box, that is not recyclable. Why not?

While I understand that we won't rid ourselves entirely of plastic, we no longer can afford to make single use plastic that can't be recycled. Every new, and existing, products have to consider this and plan their next move accordingly.

We, as consumers, also need to be more mindful of this and do the necessary changes in our purchasing habits to support a healthier future for our planet. Things that we can do today:

• Stop using straws.
• Bring our own bags when we're shopping.
• Buy products that uses less single use plastic.
• Recycle what can be recycled.

Let's decrease that 8 million tons of plastic/year to 2-3 millions for 2019. What other ways can you think of that would help our planet?