A Real Man Eats Correctly
THE THING
Here’s the Thing! I was going to call this one, a real man eats healthily but that would be a lie and an almost impossible task. The truth is that Real Men strive to eat healthily and it is a priority for them.
Real Men are realists. You are not going to eat healthy food for the rest of your life because … well you just aren’t. Some men who are obsessed with their bodies or who have made their bodies their hobby, do eat healthy their whole lives. Most guys can’t and don’t choose to do that, so Real Men can and do eat “less than healthily” on occasion. You have one very short life to live - so you can’t spend it avoiding all of the tasty food available to you. Knowing this, Real Men find balance in their diet. Do you get that? They have a balanced diet. It is perfectly okay to have the occasional “bad – fun meal” as long as it is balanced with healthy meals most of the time.
For most Real Men, the old 80/20 rule applies. Eat healthily and correctly for 80% of your week and you can eat whatever you want the other 20%. This means that you really never have to deprive yourself of the treats you enjoy.
ARM gets that life is all about being responsible and having fun, so you need to find the balance for you. When it comes to diets and nutrition, the one thing I have learnt, as with exercise, is that no one diet or eating system fits everyone.
At the time of writing this eggs are now back in fashion and nutritionists are talking about good cholesterol, and that you cannot have enough of them and blah, blah. Do you remember how just a few years ago they were telling us to avoid eggs?
What about how we should carbo-load and eat less meat? Then stay away from fats. Then let’s all go Banting and eat all the meat and fats. (Because now there are good fats and bad fats and food combinations.) It’s enough to make you just want to have a cheeseburger. I had a food allergy assessment done on me and how my body works, and I found that I was/am allergic to eggs; very allergic apparently, so I have to feed my body what works for me. You have a different metabolism to other guys, so follow one that works for you, but make sure you follow one.
THE REWARD
You are what you eat. All of the energy you have, comes from the food you eat, so it follows that if you eat low energy, crap food you are going to be a low energy, crap- feeling person.
Someone said, what you eat in private - you wear in public and to the hospital.
Losing weight and being healthy starts and ends in the kitchen.
THE HOW TO
- Okay so here is where I have to draw the line. You all know how to eat healthily. No one has to tell you the difference between a carrot and a cube of sugar. You know if you eat a hamburger you probably didn’t eat as healthily as if you had a salad.
- Stop being a child and grow up. You have to take a few hits when you decide to eat healthily. It is always tough and it takes commitment and effort, and you have to have tremendous will power to stick to it, but if it’s important enough to you, you’ll do it.
- It’s not about the food, it’s about the power food has over you. If you are out of shape and overweight - food has power over you. You can’t help but eat junk and it has become your drug. For many people, food is a feel-good drug. We eat to feel better about our lives and ourselves. Many people don’t even realise that they ‘comfort food eat’ because it is done as an unconscious instinct.
- Wake up to the addiction and take back your power.
- So, let me repeat this again, because it fits here. When you decide to take back your power, the day you decide is the day you will be invited to a party or restaurant. How else can you take back your power, unless you are placed into temptation?
- Let’s face it, it’s easy to eat healthily - stranded on a deserted island with very little food, and only coconuts to eat. But, as soon as you are back home, you become an addict again. Truth be told - you never stopped being an addict. Real Man power comes from being tempted and saying no, owning the decision and walking through the withdrawals. It’s not as a euphemism I use the example of food being a drug and people being addicts. Food and especially fast, quick, unhealthy food, is a drug, treat it and see it as one.
- Have you ever looked at a drug addict or alcoholic and just been amazed at how weak they are and how they should just say no and stop?
- I used to judge these people as weak and I had no patience with them, until I substituted their alcohol for my addiction to sugar, more specifically chocolate. I was a sugar addict and as soon as I called myself that word, I changed.
- Food may be your addiction, or porn, or some un-serving bad habit. How easy is it for you to say no?
- When you can control what you put in your mouth, every day, you have beaten addiction - for today! Because the temptations all start again tomorrow, and you know the saying, “once an addict, always an addict.” It takes only seconds to slip.
TROUBLE SHOOTING
- But shouldn’t you just be happy with who you are?
You should, until it starts to affect your health, your relationships and how you feel. When you live a life constantly in pain and uncomfortable; when you can’t breathe when you tie your shoe laces; when you have constant heart burn or you are too embarrassed to swim because you have to wear a costume; when you have no energy to go to work or play with your kids - then my friend, and I hope it’s not too late, then you will be forced to make the changes.Diabetes hardly ever just appears in the body; in most cases, it is a lifestyle disease. My Dad smoked a pack a day, drank a few liters of Coke every week and never broke a sweat in the name of exercise; big surprise when he was diagnosed as a diabetic and a few years later with stage 4 lung cancer. “But George Burns drank and smoked...”
There is another take to this whole exercising and eating correctly argument. As I have already stated, my dad never exercised a day in his life, drank so much alcohol that he got pancreatitis, (so bad that the doctors said if he had one more drink he would die), he smoked a pack a day from the age of 17. My best friend’s father was a health freak and a former Mr. Universe. He treated his body as a temple, ate healthily, was up at 4 AM every day and trained in his home gym. Some mornings he used to run up the hill behind his house to get a “good leg pump”. Both of these men died at the age of 73. They both died of different types of cancer. So, what’s the point I hear you ask? Something is probably going to kill you, you say; and you are correct, but that’s not the point. I knew both of these men and I can tell you unequivocally that my friend’s father had a better quality of life, physically, than my dad ever did. My dad was in and out of hospitals his whole life and we couldn’t even count the number of doctor’s visits he had, or the number of drugs he took every day, just to make it through the day. I hope this helps.
WISDOM
"Every time you eat or drink you are either feeding disease or fighting it." - Heather Morgan
A Real Man Works Out
THE THING
Here’s the Thing! The human body is designed to be active. It is a known scientific and biological fact that the less we do, the unhealthier we become. Cells in the body need to be energised, muscles need to be moved and blood needs to be oxygenised.
Real Men understand that they need to exercise and to be active in order to be healthy and have a better quality of life. By exercising we mean active, not a couch potato.
Men also need physical activity in order to reduce stress. Any form of exercise, activity or physical hobby should also build in relaxation, teamwork and fun.
The older you get the more you need to “exercise”.
Let’s look at the word – workout - for what it really is; what are you working out?
You are working out an unhealthy lifestyle and diet; you are literally working it out of your body. You are working out stress, literally, physically forcing stress out of your muscles, refocusing your mind and taking yourself out of your everyday stress and commitments.
It’s also work, it’s effort, it needs energy and concentration so you have to work it.
Please don’t believe all of the crap they try and tell you and sell you on social media and media in general. No workout programme, no exercise routine, no specific programme or exercise equipment is going to work for everyone. People are different, and what may work for you may not work for me, so it is important that you find the activity that best works for you.
THE REWARD
A healthy body is a healthy mind.
A healthy body has energy to go above and beyond at work.
A healthy body is attractive and appealing.
A healthy body sleeps well and has loads of energy.
A healthy body is admired and respected because people realise the amount of dedication, hard work and sacrifice it takes, not only to get into shape, but to stay that way.
THE HOW TO
- Working out is all relative and based on your age, interests and abilities. There is no one-size-fits-all solution.
- For some it may be hard-core gym every day or it could simply be parking your car at the furthest part of any parking lot, so that you have to walk a number of steps every day.
- Men have different interests and varying physical abilities. Find the sport or activity that suits your body type and temperament and make it a continuous task. It’s really the same as eating, but more about that later.
- Almost any activity or sport will be beneficial, but you should always consult exercise physiologists, doctors and specialists for the best activities that suit your individual needs.
- As men get older they lose muscle and it is advised that resistance training and weights should form a major part of their exercise regimen.
- The one aspect of physical health that we tend to forget is stretching, toning, rest and relaxation. Getting enough rest after exercise and having quality sleep, both play a major role in your physical wellbeing.
- Here’s the thing! We all know how to exercise and what we need to do in order to stay fit and healthy. It really isn’t rocket science and there are thousands of books, mags and web sites that will gladly take your cash and help you. Most of it is just common sense - so Real Men just get on with it. They know that they have to be active. They set themselves a weekly, monthly and annual target and they get on with it.
- Working out to a Real Man is like brushing his teeth or taking a dump; it’s just part of the day and there is not much thought or issue with it. Just create a habit and get it done.
TROUBLE SHOOTING
- Isn’t this area out of your league?
Yes and no. I have been exercising for most of my life and I have consulted with loads of exercise professionals. Each and every one gives their own take on how you should be physically active. Unfortunately, most of it is based on where they are in their lives and the ‘3-week personal trainer course’ that they went on. Find somebody your own age who has been there and done that; and who is in the shape or physical health that you wish to achieve, and listen to them. Listen to them, but always do what is right for you and your body; and get yourself checked out by a health professional before you start any new activity. Obviously, I said that last line to cover myself legally, but if you’re stupid enough to go into something that you are not physically ready for, or capable of, then you’re just asking for trouble.Some extremely overweight guy, father and husband, decides, all of a sudden, to start swimming to lose weight. He actually had a heart attack in the swimming pool and died in the water. Wake up people. Know your body, know your limits and get yourself checked out.
WISDOM
"Just pull your shit together and go and work out, be stronger than your excuses. A one hour workout is only 4% of your day." - Various gym quotes spliced into one