I miss my Aunt Robin.
We didn’t know too much about health back then.
We’d go to buffets in Vegas, eat, laugh and have fun. We’d go to the movie theater and eat buttered popcorn with Junior Mints and soda. We celebrated festive holidays and had amazing times together.
We made great memories and food was a big part of that.
I remember her injecting insulin in her stomach.
I was a child growing up into adolescence.
I didn’t know about lifestyle-related diseases and diabetes, yet.
We didn’t know about Good Nutrition and living healthy active lifestyles.
I wish we had…
…Maybe if we knew how to really fight against her obesity and type II diabetes she might still be here today. Alive, happy, healthy and whole.
I lost her when I was 19.
“And I grew into the man
That you never knew
But I wouldn’t be this way
If it wasn’t for you
One hundred thank you’s”
~UnderOath, “Alone in December”
She died young at the age of 42.
And maybe she didn’t have to.
The statistics tell us that our world’s future health is getting worse. [i] [ii]
Maybe it doesn’t have to.
Maybe we can change it.
The statistics on lifestyle-related diseases are horrendous.
The individual stories are even more heartbreaking.
Losing my Aunt Robin at too young of an age (for both of us) is just one of too many S.A.D. stories.
I’ve got my own journey of pain, loss and redemption.
Fortunately, I escaped the sedentary lifestyle. I was overweight and not taking care of myself, inside and out. I changed the direction my health was heading in. I embraced a healthy active lifestyle and Good Nutrition. I’ve benefited greatly from these changes and my physical, mental, and emotional health is all stronger because of it. Finding and practicing physicality has been a great gift.
I’ve helped coach people into making lifestyle changes and improving many aspects of their health, inside and out. It truly has been a journey of transformation.
What about you? What’s your story? Where are you on your health journey?
How is your nutrition, activity and lifestyle?
What about those you love?
Far from Alone in This S.A.D. Story
This sickness is at an all-time high and continues to climb at an alarming rate.
Obesity. Heart disease. Diabetes.
Lifestyle. Choices. Action.
Let’s make a change and be the future we want to see. Let’s take Extreme Ownership (great book) of our health and change the projected metabolic future of human history!
Let’s stop the stories of lifestyle-related disease, death and loss like mine. And I wish I was the only one, but I am far from alone in this S.A.D. story.
My Aunt Robin was a type II insulin dependent diabetic. I believe our healthcare system failed her in more ways than I’d like to share. I wish the healthcare system had cared more about her health and well-being as an individual.
“What can we really do to help this person holistically and help them return to their full health potential?”
For example, I believe the first thing a doctor should do when prescribing medication is discuss the course of action needed to get off medicine and get back to health.
“Oh, OK. Thanks Doc. So you want me to take these for the rest of my life?…”
Yes, medicine is a modern-day miracle but without lifestyle change it won’t be enough. I can’t help but wonder about this modern medicine: is it life-saving or lifestyle-enabling?
And who benefits from this? And who loses the most?
My Aunt Robin needed much more than medicine to save her life. Yes, the medicine helped of course but there was so much more that could have been done to help save her life beyond just following another standard protocol of giving pills and sending people on their way.
Do you take prescription pills or know someone that does?
Maybe a family member or a loved one?
If giving people pills was the epitome of health we wouldn’t be one of the sickest countries in the world.
We need to place an emphasis on awareness, education, prevention and action. Each individual must make a choice to actively pursue health rather than passively “hoping for the best.”
Our “health” system works backwards from death to disease and diagnosis instead of forward from birth to life and longevity.
“I am entirely serious when I suggest that it is a very myopic medical science which works backward from the morgue rather than forward from the cradle.” ~Weston A. Price, DDS, 1939
This quote is from a dentist. In 1939!
Prevention is the future of health care, but you have to care about your health for that to matter… And you can’t just “care about it,” you have to care for it.
If you had a rare disease your doctor would need to “diagnosis, treat and cure” that disease and you would be grateful for their saving work.
…Forever grateful.
Sadly, many of our modern sicknesses are lifestyle related, which means that you’re going to have to do the saving work.
…Yourself.
The diagnosis is already known:
- Record high obesity rates at 42.6% of the population projected to be over 50% by 2030
- 1 in 3 have prediabetes/metabolic syndrome [iii] and that number continues to rise [iv]
- Over 84% of people that have prediabetes/metabolic syndrome are unaware of it [v]
- 1 in 10 have type 2 diabetes
- 1 in 4 will die of heart disease
- 60% of cancer is lifestyle related [vi]
- Childhood obesity continues to rise- [vii] 19.3% of our young aged 2-19, have obesity.
“In the mid-1970s, 5.5 percent of young people had obesity. Being overweight or having obesity as a young person puts them at higher risk for having obesity and its related health risks as an adult.” ~ The State of Obesity
Why are we so sick and getting sicker?
Lifestyle. Choices.
That means YOU are the more powerful person in the room- not your doctor.
“The doctor of the future will be oneself.” ~Albert Schweitzer
Let’s start working forward from birth to find health instead of backwards from death to find disease.
Your lifestyle is in your hands. Get the help you need.
I’ve heard it said that “our healthcare system is broken.” Perhaps caring for our own health would be the best place to start fixing the problem. Yes, there are many issues with the current system, but let’s not blame the establishment alone before we look at ourselves first.
We all need to do better. We need to address the lifestyle changes necessary for complete healing instead of putting bandages over bleeding wounds in the form of pills and prescriptions.
“Lifestyle related diseases and obesity continue to climb to record high numbers. If only there was something we could do… Here, take MORE pills.”
A full health intervention is needed to optimize one’s health. This includes education, application, coaching and accountability. Successfully changing depends on one’s willingness to change but it’s also up to health providers to help bring awareness and empower one with the possibility of change.
Say it with me: Movement Is Medicine: S.A.D. (+) Sedentarism Is Sickness
“Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.” ― Dr. Seuss, The Lorax.
Thomas Edison, who was also concerned about the healthcare system of his time, said this in 1903:
“The doctor of the future will give no medication but will interest his patients in the care of the human frame, diet and in the cause and prevention of disease.”
There weren’t personal trainers and strength coaches in the times of Thomas Edison, but the quote is very telling. Who spends the most time working with people on “the care of the human frame?” Which “health care providers” are trying to provide the most health and through what means? Who is on the front lines of prevention?
It’s clear nutrition, movement, and prevention are the future. Who will empower people in the prevention of lifestyle-related disease, loss and death?
Let’s work forward from life to find longevity and health instead of continuing to go backwards.
We’re at a crossroads in human history. We need a turning point.
We need a movement. We need movement. Make a move. Your move. Move.
The best health care plan is and always was in your own hands: in your body, mind, perspective and actions. “In the care of the human frame.”
You are the most important person in your lifestyle. (A great team can help too.)
Your health is built up or broken down by the daily decisions you choose.
Your habits, behaviors and actions lead to the outcomes. Make sure those are outcomes you desire.
If your habits and health could use some work, let’s connect.
Let’s do away with ignorance, apathy and ambivalence and finally embrace health.
Health. Sickness.
Life. Death.
Love. Loss.
Healing. Declining.
Wholeness. Brokenness.
Choices. Chances.
Decisions. Destiny.
Your ______ is in your hands.
“Could I have my wasted days back?
Would I use them to get back on track?
You live it or lie it!
My lifestyle determines my deathstyle!”
~Metallic, “Frantic”
CHOOSE YOUR FUTURE SELF. TODAY.
You can stay up late.
You can eat processed foods.
You can avoid activity and movement.
You can neglect strength and recovery.
You can rely on your youth…
But eventually gravity will find you and you’ll feel its burden.
It will come to collect its toll.
Over-stressed, under-slept, overweight, lacking strength, immobile and in pain because you don’t move enough and in the right ways.
Gravity will find you.
Defy Gravity and keep your youth.
Lift heavy. Eat whole. Recover hard.
The sooner the better.
It’s easy to neglect taking care of your health in the absence of sickness.
Actively make healthy choices today to avoid the consequences of sickness tomorrow.
What deposits and withdrawals are you making from your personal health account?
Where do you think those actions will lead you in the next 2, 5 or 10 plus years?
How do you feel today? Is that how you want to feel? How do you envision your future self?
We are poor creatures at choosing our future selves over today, but I assure you investing in your health today is your best bet. It’s much better than paying the cost later.
Bet on yourself. Your future. Your health. Your hopes and dreams.
Being healthy and active is the backbone to being the best version of yourself you can be.
Today, tomorrow and ten years from now. Decades even.
Don’t look back and wonder what could have been… Look forward and ask what can be?
INTERTWINED
Your head and your heart.
Your brain and your body.
Your mind and your movement.
Your mental and physical health.
Your doing and being.
Your thinking and feeling.
Your being and your becoming.
Your behaviors and your outcomes.
Your thoughts and your actions.
Your will and your living.
It’s all connected.
Connect to it all.
Build a healthy relationship with food, fitness and your future self. TODAY.
I will forever miss and love my Aunt Robin. Our journey together is a deep why behind why I choose health daily and why I love helping people build confidence and achieve their personal health goals.
Download these free health resources HERE to help you get started and consider sharing this article with a loved one whose health you care about.
If you want to take your body back and get control of your health- Nutritional Mastery Coaching can help you:
- Learn to eat better, without dieting or feeling deprived.
- Get active and moving no matter what shape you’re in.
- Produce lifelong change inside and out for a brighter healthier future.
You can choose health and I can help navigate and walk with you on your journey.
I’d love to learn more about you, your goals and your story.
Schedule your complementary Success Session to learn more about Nutritional Mastery coaching.
DO YOU NEED HELP TRANSFORMING YOUR BODY AND HEALTH?
[i] Ward, Zachary J., et al. “Projected US state-level prevalence of adult obesity and severe obesity.” New England Journal of Medicine 381.25 (2019): 2440-2450.
[ii] Rowley, William R et al. “Diabetes 2030: Insights from Yesterday, Today, and Future Trends.” Population health management vol. 20,1 (2017): 6-12. doi:10.1089/pop.2015.0181
[iii] Aguilar M, Bhuket T, Torres S, Liu B, Wong RJ. Prevalence of the metabolic syndrome in the United States, 2003-2012. JAMA. 2015;313(19):1973-1974. doi:10.1001/jama.2015.4260
[iv] Hirode G, Wong RJ. Trends in the Prevalence of Metabolic Syndrome in the United States, 2011-2016. JAMA. 2020;323(24):2526–2528. doi:10.1001/jama.2020.4501
[v] Moore JX, Chaudhary N, Akinyemiju T. Metabolic Syndrome Prevalence by Race/Ethnicity and Sex in the United States, National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 1988–2012. Prev Chronic Dis 2017;14:160287. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5888/pcd14.160287
[vi] Song M, Giovannucci E. Preventable Incidence and Mortality of Carcinoma Associated With Lifestyle Factors Among White Adults in the United States. JAMA Oncol. 2016;2(9):1154–1161. doi:10.1001/jamaoncol.2016.0843
[vii] Ogden CL, Carroll MD, Kit BK, Flegal KM. Prevalence of childhood and adult obesity in the United States, 2011-2012. JAMA. 2014;311(8):806-814. doi:10.1001/jama.2014.732
nutritionalmastery.com 