Getting around

In addition to health and fitness, I have an inexplicable fascination with urban planning and especially transportation management. Seriously, I have no clue how, where, or when this interest began, but it’s there nonetheless. SimCity was/is the single biggest time-suck I’ve ever encountered. I’m not an avid gamer by any stretch, but the one game (series) where I completely lose all sense of time, hunger, and bowel needs is SimCity, so it should come as little surprise that I enjoy the history and tech of transportation, from human locomotion to space travel and everything in between. Fortunately for my purposes here, transportation often has a direct effect on human health, whether it deals with less walking or more exhaust emissions (don’t worry, I’m not going to go all tree-hugger on you), and in light of a spate of recent articles—most from Wired—and some continued musings on the movie Wall-E, the how and why of getting around started to percolate (mmmm… coffee…).

Of course, this relates in large part to the spike in energy costs, which in turn has led to higher prices for literally everything else, especially food (due to both transportation costs and competition with biofuels). This is leading to higher demand for locally-produced foodstuffs, which are becoming more financially competitive with more traditional food supply practices. Though they still cost slightly more, local foods have the distinct advantages of (almost always) tasting better and being more nutritional, and the only visual reference you need is being able to notice when the food has spoiled—this happens more quickly than with the usual grocery store fare, but the trade-off is fresher food, which I’ll happily take. This also lessens—but obviously doesn’t eliminate—the need to scrutinize your daily caloric consumption, and it keeps you in-tune with the seasons of agriculture.

Our most basic means of getting around is hoofing it. Technological advances, under the guise of making life easier, continue to make walking less necessary (if not simply more dangerous), but the consequences of fearing, loathing, and/or forgetting how to do the basics are becoming all too apparent in our society. Second only to obesity is the way land-use management practices have developed: pockets of residential, commercial, and industrial concentrations set miles apart and connected only by roadways. The Charlotte area is a perfect example of gargantuan planned communities cordoned off from massive shopping centers, but not only is suburbia become a financial boondoggle, but it stands to reason that the distances have all but destroyed the walk-to-get-there mindset (it never ceases to amaze me how I’ll grab a far-away parking spot at the gym and get inside before someone who circles the lot ten times waiting for a closer spot—at the freaking gym!), so it comes as little surprise that many of us—myself included—end up with knee/hip/ankle issues among others. The solution: get strong(er), period (why is there such a prevailing stigma against strength, anyway?). Don’t sweat the aesthetics—form will follow function. Or you could always start shopping for joint replacements. Your choice.

Prices are pushing denser development forward here and elsewhere, albeit at exorbitant prices that seem to ignore the current housing/mortgage situation, but at least the supply is coming online, which means prices eventually have to come down relative to inflation, right? Right?

*crickets*

Brake lights:
—Government continues its push to save you from yourself (funny how the target audience is similar to that of Guiding Stars).
—Remember that whole check-your-studies flap awhile back regarding the comparison of low-carb and low-fat diets? Dr. Eades follows up his own stuff with more in-depth stuff.
—How about a visual editorial on the statins-for-children issue? At least they’ll have an advocacy group to overblow their victimization. I think I just sprained an eyeball from rolling it so hard.
—Age AND mobility in one! Also, women get to deal with dementia longer than men (I contend that it starts earlier with women, too—they just drive men to their own dementia, and we just kick off sooner from it) ;)

Turn signals:
—Sports have always used technology to improve performance. The problem is deciding which technologies are allowed and which aren’t, and who does the deciding anyway?
—Andrew waxes Shakespearean on skydiving. I hope to experience some of the same giddily terrified catharsis tomorrow when I jump behind the wheel of a NASCAR stock car (track time: 5pm).
—Kevin tries to make cottage cheese taste good/better. His mug shot isn’t helping the digestion process :)
—Mark continues his homage to National Salad Week.
—See/Hear storm, trigger asthma?
—Nuclear power is considered by many to be the best immediate solution to fossil fuel consumption for power generation. Regardless of which side of the argument you support, there’s little dispute over nuclear’s contribution to cancer screening and treatment, which is great if you think that cell phones are riddling our bodies with said cancer.
—Geek-out #1 (transportation edition): happy anniversary to the first oil tanker shipment, congrats to NYC for getting its first new subway line in seventy years, this is the first known Tesla crash *sniff*, the Toyota Prius is APPRECIATING in value, traffic jams occur because we think too much, sometimes a bigger engine is more efficient, someone will always ignore perceived possible death to get a video of the scene, space travel then and now (with pictures) and tomorrow, this will be a future road trip.
—Geek-out #2 (general edition): cellular companies take a hit on early termination fees, the first and next 5,000 days of the web, setup OpenDNS (do it!), say what you want but don’t assume online anonymity.

High beams:
—Strive for perfection, but don’t be afraid of imperfection.
—Sometimes, a letter to yourself makes all the difference.

EDIT: On a local note, it’s being reported that Click Baldwin, owner of Carolina Harley-Davidson in Gastonia NC (where I bought my bike), died last night as a result of injuries from a vehicle collision. As unexpected as this is, he was at fault and not wearing a helmet, and it’s stuff like this that gives the rest of us riders a bad image. Don’t do stupid stuff on motorcycles, and they’re just as safe as cars.

Guiding Stars

I swear I had no intentions of writing another post for a few days. Promise. Scout’s honor (too bad I wasn’t a Scout). It’s not even 6am on Monday morning as I start this, but leave it to morning TV to prep my soapbox (in my defense, I have to monitor morning news programs as part of my current work, which starts just before 5am—yes, please shoot me).

The object of my ire this morning is Guiding Stars. This is the first I’d heard of them (being a Monday, it would make sense to start the ads now), and I guess some long-running insomnia is catching up with me because I was ready to put my coffee mug through the TV screen (after finishing the coffee, of course). In the commercial—dumbed down to the lowest common denominator, of course—we’re told that grocery shopping just got easier. All we have to do is look for products labeled with one (good), two (better), or three (best) stars to gauge a food’s nutritional value. My first reaction was: so we’re too stupid to read nutritional labels? Okay, fine, I’ll grant you that those labels are increasingly complex and wholly misleading, playing on the lack of education and/or income for a lot of the customers in the stores (initially) using this metric (hey, don’t hate, that’s just the facts of the matter). My second reaction was: what’s it saying that the government’s nutritional authorities admit these complexities and, instead of standardizing labels, instead choose to create a visual system to “guide” people toward better food choices? Are we generally more illiterate and uneducated, or are we generally less English-proficient, or both? I’ll leave that argument for another time and place, but suffice to say that I’m not exactly feeling this to be the Second Coming.

First, let’s take a look at the advisory panel. Looks pretty educated and accomplished, no? Well, that’s because they are. Just look at all those letters after the names. Without knowing any of these people and instead going on my own overwhelming skepticism, let me say a couple things:

1. Letters don’t mean jack. Sure, it means you’ve passed some tests at some sort of subjective proficiency (based on the accrediting institution), but that doesn’t necessarily translate to reality. For example, you’re familiar with my opinion on the vast majority of personal trainers. Technically, they all have “letters” or certifications—this is in no way an indication of their ability to create and personalize training and nutritional programs for their clients. Instead, it only says that they can take a test to the satisfaction of some entity (often just the gym where they work). Consider this: I have “letters.” Seriously. Graduate from college, and you get “letters.” In my case, I have B.A. and M.A. after my name (I can convincingly argue that both should be B.S.), but they only mean that I put in some time and demonstrated some level of subjective aptitude, not that I know what I’m talking about, which I usually don’t.

2. On a related note, see those “R.D.” letters? That means “registered dietician.” Registered by whom? Again, who knows, but generally speaking, their nutritional education is based on US government guidelines, which as I’ve opined before, have had a devastating effect on our society’s mindset toward proper diet. Now, just like having letters doesn’t mean you know what you’re doing, there are exceptions where people overcome standardization and actually learn more and think for themselves and keep up with the latest research. I may even know an R.D. or two who’ve done that, but by and large, most I’ve heard of work for LA Weight Loss and Jenny Craig. I am SO not going down that path right now…

3. Note the asterisk denoting what “international health organizations” are involved: US Food and Drug Administration, US Department of Agriculture, US Health & Human Services, National Academies of Science, World Health Organization. Sweet, more government oversight. I know I’ll sleep better tonight.

Okay, so what? Maybe, just maybe, this system is legit. Let’s look at how they determine which foods are healthier than others (enable JavaScript in your browser to see the pop-out window). Here’s how it breaks down:

—Fat is bad.
—Cholesterol is bad.
—Sugar is bad.
—Fiber is good.
—Vitamins and minerals are good.
—Protein is insignificant.

*ahem* You might want to cover the kids’ ears for a second…

HOLY F*CKING SH*T, ARE OUR NUTRITIONAL GUIDELINES STILL STUCK IN THE F*CKING 1970s???

In short, yes, but then, we’re living longer lives, right? Wrong. We’re enjoying healthier lifestyles in that longevity, right? Wrong. But, just look at the benefits of Guiding Stars, printed right there on the website:

—It’s easy – you can see at-a-glance how similar products rank for nutritional value (read: you don’t have to be literate to any degree).
—It’s fun – even kids can use Guiding Stars to pick out more nutritious options (read: you’re stupid and easily entertained at any age).
—It’s fast – less time studying labels – we’ve done the work for you (read: go ahead and be lazy because GovCo is here to serve YOU).
—It’s good for you – ratings help you make better nutrition choices for you and your family (read: see any of the above comments).
—It’s grounded in science – the program reflects the most current nutritional guidelines from the FDA and the USDA (read: just forget the last few decades of government-backed recommendations that have had a huge hand in hiking the heft of our nation, even though these suggestions are the same thing a different, shinier wrapper).
—It’s fair – Guiding Stars rates foods with the same formula, regardless of brand, price or manufacturer (read: pay no attention to the fact that this system is being rolled out to lower-income consumers first).

Do I really need to say anything else? Please, even though it’s your tax dollars paying for this spewage, don’t let them patronize your intelligence. Just pay attention, use your noodle, and do what you know is best for you and yours, and watch out for those weekends.

History:
—More on how exercise may slow/prevent brain atrophy linked to Alzheimer’s.
—Childhood statins is a firestorm topic, but that doesn’t mean kids aren’t already taking adult drugs for obesity-related conditions.

Here-and-now:
—If the above rant wasn’t enough to get you going, Craig offers seven ways to get motivated for your workout.
—Speaking of that last link, congrats to Kevin Larabee (host of The FitCast podcast). After a brief tryst to the West Coast to pursue a career in the video game industry (creating, not just playing), he decided to return to his fitness experience back east.
—Happy National Salad Week!
—Coach Steer provides a good analogy for why buying local and/or organic does a body (and mind) good.
—Alwyn had his “carpe diem” day over the weekend (this is a good place to plug a related project).
—Vanity trumps health when it comes to skin care (if you can pay, of course).
—Pregnancy may convince some smokers to quit, but really, why not do it for yourself first (or maybe, oh I dunno, not start at all)? It’s your choice, of course. (I can hear the analogical logic now: I want to quit smoking, so let’s have a kid! I want more government cheese, so let’s have a(nother) kid!)
—You’ve heard of the Humane Genome Project. Now get ready for the hyper-personalized version.
—This week is NASA’s 50th anniversary, so here are some pictorials in mini geek-out fashion: extraterrestrial vehicles, spacesuits, big goofs.
—Geek-out: biological body armor, Model-T hacking, nukes may not be the best way to save the planet, happy belated birthday to Stanley Kubrick, MP3s will not die (yet), mixed-use development demand is still strong.

Horizon:
—Last time, I spent some time talking about regeneration and restoration. This time, Philip Walter puts some better-quality meat behind the idea.
—”Grinding” is idiotic and monotonous, but at least it promises progress (note: don’t bail when you see this is an article about a video game—look beyond—and no, I’ve never played World of Warcraft, but I can relate to the concept).

Balance

(No, this is not a re-hash of an older blog post of the same title :P)

I don’t want to suggest that I called everyone out with that last post, but the past couple days have seen an uptick in exercise-related writing (my next post will therefore focus entirely on Taylor Swift and her sudden, inexplicable, uncontrollable urge to visit Charlotte—hey, she’s on my “gimme” list). I mean, c’mon, even Mark left his customary diet-focused writings to re-highlight the Prison Workout, though it does mesh nicely with the Primal Blueprint push he’s been on for awhile. While I haven’t done the Prison Workout myself (not that there’s a formal PW anyway), I’ve recently adopted this minimalist, functional approach to training via Ross Enamait’s Infinite Intensity. You largely train alone, often with only bodyweight for resistance, with plenty of room for creating your own workouts under a basic framework and only yourself to hold accountable. After months and years of either rigid or wide-open programming, this has turned out to be a great balance for me (you’ll never convince me that burpees are fun, though). Regardless of what you do, please do so with some sense.

Part of this shift has included more balance in running. I should say upfront that I’m built to wrestle or play football, not run, if for no other reason than I have a substantial Q-angle, which I learned the hard way through overuse injuries. However, way way WAY too many people still equate fitness with running (and nothing else). I’ll be on a Saturday morning run (for coffee and *gasp* bagels), and in the three miles between my house and the shop, I’ll see no fewer than two dozen people in various levels of body types, fitness, and dress (ugh) attempting to “run” their way to a better body. Let’s get something straight here, once and for all: you cannot run to get fit. You cannot do it. Cannot, at least not healthily or without incurring some other residual damage that could’ve easily been avoided while still getting similar training benefits through different activity. On the contrary, you need to be fit to run. Think about it: how are the best runners built? Like sticks, relatively speaking. You never see someone with child-bearin’ hips win a marathon (or even a 10K, for that matter). In other words, they have minimal Q-angles and are biomechanically more predisposed to success in running. People with larger Q-angles would be better served using other means of training to achieve fitness, and in fact, those other means are usually (a) lower impact, (b) higher intensity, and (c) shorter in duration, meaning they’re (d) more efficient. For example, my cow-plodding ass never ran a 5K in under 27:13 or a 10K in under an hour. That’s just the way it is. Could I get my times lower? Probably, and I even tried a few times, but the damage I did to my body (not the least of which was learning how to run correctly—more here, here, here, and here) wasn’t worth getting marginally better in a merely recreational pursuit. Plus, all that running sapped my strength, so I went elsewhere and have instead been training for life, not for the next road race. I’m not saying you shouldn’t run if you really do want to, but I am saying to be smart and not treat running as the be-all end-all of fitness.

(This concludes my mini-rant, but here are some other observations from Keith—here and here.)

All the training hoo-hah aside, something I took away from this year’s JP Fitness Summit was the need to focus as much on regenerative practices as on training. After all, training stresses and damages your body (usually in a good way), but there still needs to be an emphasis on restoration and relaxation considering the tension our bodies experience every day, not just during training (I’ll let you cruise over to Steve Cotter’s site/forum for leads on relaxation during training, which is essentially controlled use of the stretch-shortening cycle, the primary component of plyometrics but also inherent in all manner of training) but after training as well, namely stuff like qigong (also a Cotter-inspired addition that I’m really starting to enjoy). Also post-training, SMR (self-myofascial release) is the way to go if you don’t have the time or money for regular massage therapy. I have a roller, a Stick, and some tennis balls. Mike Boyle has some videos on YouTube to give you some ideas on technique, but as he says (via item #6 in this post from Eric), “Soft tissue work, whether for chronic muscle strains or for tendon issues, is like weight training. Treatment is actually a stimulus.”

When it comes to our bodies, just as with anything else, balance is optimal. Throw something out of balance, and less-than-optimal things happen (see: obesity). Even when we exercise, no matter how we do it, we are damaging our bodies. That’s not to say we shouldn’t exercise—how else would we introduce controlled discomfort and stresses that cause our bodies to adapt and improve? However, there has to be balance, and so to balance that damage, we have to put some effort into repair (in moderation, not through “cleansings” and such—enemas for everyone!). The hard part is that our idea of balance has been skewed out of balance (nice to see John Berardi coming up for air), often unwittingly so (high-fructose corn syrup, anyone?)—how else would an article coin the phrase “couch potato commerce”? Our bodies are phenomenal units capable of regulation to the nth (and 1/nth) degree, but we can’t just keep hammering away at them and expect them not to eventually wear down (see again: obesity).

Of course, it’s not ALL about exercise—as I’ve mentioned and linked several times before, eating is fun, but in the context of balance, “fun” used to mean “treat,” which has ostensibly become the norm (I say this as I sit here eating three very rare pieces of Fuel pizza). I mentioned this past weekend a comparison of my shopping cart’s contents versus those of others. Tony recently had a similar experience, and Kevin shared the innards of his own fridge. However, it’s not just about exercise and food, either. Our society thrives on tension, both physical and mental, and not a day goes by where we don’t see some consequence of that, ranging from headaches and neck pain to murders and suicides. I won’t lie: it takes some work to relax. Why do you think chiropractors and other therapists do such booming business, and repeatedly at that? I’ll give you a hint: imploding synovial fluid (read: all the bone popping) only temporarily treats the symptoms of pain and stress without addressing the fundamental cause of the pain, muscle quality (or lack thereof) and tension. We just don’t relax as part of our livelihoods—is it any wonder that Starbucks continues to rake in revenues hand over fist despite recently closing some 600 stores? Just look at the monstrosity they’re putting in more and more of their stores. I like a good cup of coffee myself, and I do have some discriminating taste in that realm, but that’s seriously reaching levels of snobbery in the wine and “fine art” circles. Bah.

Arear
—More crap to add on the pile of medicating childhood obesity, though I have to say it does raise some good points against medication. I’m just annoyed that this is an issue at all. At least one blast-from-the-past is making an effort to help kids more naturally.
—More government protecting you from yourself, even if hypocritically. If only Congress would listen to science (assuming they understood all those numbers and symbols and big words and such).
—Your age-is-no-excuse installment.

Amidships
—Ah-HA! (and again)
—Happy trails to “last lecture” professor Randy Pausch.
—This would normally go in the geek-out, but the take-home message is a little more widely applicable than the story: “Stop assuming that systems are secure unless demonstrated insecure; start assuming that systems are insecure unless designed securely.” Man, I can think of a dozen areas of life where this mindset would be beneficial.
—There is no secret, just like there’s no magic pill, but someone is going to make a mint anyway *rolls eyes*.
—The Internet may make a dodo out of the bike messenger, but it might also make you famous.
—If video games may kill you, why would you buy them in the first place? Oh yeah, air conditioning. My bad.
—If you drink, don’t drive, do the watermelon crawl (okay, that has nothing to do with the story other than watermelon, but how often do I get to slide country music lyrics in here—yeah yeah, once is too much, I know…).
—I may start another installment called Mark’s Meat, considering how much stuff I link from there on a regular basis. In this experimental session, Mark gives us thoughts on: DIY salad dressings and sweet peppers.
—Geek-out: Wasp Injector Knife (I’d love to see this at a fancy dinner sometime), Stephen Hawking for kids, NASA’s best photos, FBI myths, the Northern Lights further demystified, Scrabble scrambles, Vista may not be so different from XP, destroy an SUV.

Ahead
—TED.com: collecting stories and digging for humanity.
—Remember how I’ve said to surely listen to others but to not necessarily take their words—even (especially?) mine—as gospel? Ross says it better. Monty Python says it best (always look on the bright side of life) :)

No, I didn’t forget about exercise…

As you’ve probably noticed, most of what I write here deals with food, but as I linked for you last time, eating is fun. We all enjoy eating, and frankly, diet is usually the lynchpin in any healthy lifestyle—exercise all you want, but if you’re eating crap, well (I cringe at even thinking the cliche), you are what you eat, and based on several prior posts, you know where I think the crap is. However, that’s not to say exercise isn’t important. Heck, it can be as fun—if not more so—than eating (okay, okay, training will never be as fun as eating, step off). At least, exercise had better be fun and feel good to some extent, or you sure won’t want to stick with it. Think of all the excuses we’ve heard for not exercising: I don’t want to be sore, I have bad/weak knees/ankles/hips/elbows/shoulders/wrists, I don’t have time, I don’t know where to start, I’m scared of the gym, I’m allergic (no shit, this is a real excuse and deserving of a swift kick to the hind parts), I get bored too easily—wait, what? Bored, you say? Please. You’re bored because you don’t want to put any thought or effort into what you’re doing. Here, this will get you through almost a year (as of this writing, with a new routine added weekly). Too hard? Scale it down or substitute easier movements. Don’t know how? Ask. Maybe another time? Fine, Bob, STFU and GTFO.

Also last time, I linked to a post by Coach Steer about athletic intelligence, which basically touts quality over quantity. More importantly, don’t think that “athletic” doesn’t necessarily apply to the weekend warrior. In fact, there are moderately viable (depending on your goals) training programs out there that are designed for work on only two days per week for the severely time-crunched, and there’s nothing saying you can’t come up with your own stuff, but the bottom line is that it’s doable. Just don’t waste your time with the latest and greatest fad movements or something you just happened to see some brotard wannabe doing the other day (and don’t skip out on work to do it). Be smart, know your limitations (but don’t use them as excuses), get after it, and above all:

Keep. It. Simple.

For example, a friend of mine e-mailed me yesterday just to catch up since we haven’t seen each other in a few weeks. Over the course of the exchange, she asked how my CSCS studies were coming along (slowly) and mentioned that she needed a “physical makeover,” meaning a personal trainer of sorts. After a few more questions, I convinced her (I think) that she wouldn’t need to spend money to join a big scary gym, that she’d be equally (or better) served with a few minor purchases to do stuff at home, and that she would have to eat more (this one is going to take some arm twisting). What specifically will I recommend? That’ll depend on what she’s willing to do consistently, what she’s not willing to change, how much time and effort she’s willing to put in at the start, and so on and so forth. I’m pretty sure a light set of Thera-Band tubing and maybe a physioball, if anything, will be more than enough for awhile. See? Simple, not to mention inexpensive. Of course, this is totally dependent on how serious she is about doing this in the first place. We’ll see. I’ve heard this all before, from her and others, so I’m not holding my breath :)

Before:
—In spite of all the DIYs I’ve mentioned when it comes to your nutrition, what if you just don’t want to get your hands dirty? Enter remote-controlled (sort of) gardening.
—So much for the attack of the killer tomatoes.
—Despite his political incorrectnes—and the fact that I can’t stand political talk radio)—Michael Savage echoes my opinion on AD(H)D. Whether or not this truly extends to autism is yet to be determined.
—Speaking of controversy, assuming global warming is a consequence of solely human activity, fat obese weight-challenged people are contributing more than their share (yes, it’s an older link, but my opinion holds).
—Doctors’ Medicare payments are unchanged for now, but what about patient reimbursements?
—Here’s your usual age-is-no-excuse installment.

Since:
—Here’s more fat fear-mongering. Good thing Mark is around, even if he does get a little fruity sometimes.
—How walkable is your neighborhood/city?
—What would you think of a ten-year-old female bodybuilder? More power to you, darling, and keep up the good—smart—work.
—Tony sprinkles potpourri.
—Think you know some health basics? Turns out that shellfish are okay year-round, and sunscreen doesn’t screen much. At last check, though, prolonged exposure to UV rays still promotes melanoma, and sleep still helps memory retention.
—So far, taxes seem to encourage smokers to quit. Do the ends justify the means?
—Stone Nudes (NSFW). Yes, the linguistic innuendos are inevitable, but that’s some good photography. Nice scenery, too. On a somewhat related note, pr0n apparently isn’t recession-proof after all. Further, Janet Jackson’s boob is legally “decent,” which says nothing about reality *vurp*
—Geek-out: tongue-kinesis, search all of Craig’s List at one time, learn to speak fish-ese.

Ahead:
—Get past the “dip.”
—TED.com love: “The only way for me to be human is for you to reflect my humanity back at me,” psychology continues to evolve, and they write as well as talk.

Cheap eats

It’s been a busy couple days in the world of food in the media, and really, who doesn’t like to eat? Food plays multiple roles in our lives, not the least of which is a source of fuel. It also obviously quells hunger pangs, but dadgummit, it just feels good. Numerous studies have been conducted (many correctly, some even relevantly) on the sense of pleasure gained from eating, which is understandable since we are still very much plugged into our pre-historic selves, meaning food equals life, and I don’t know about you, but I like living. Eating also goes hand-in-hand with gatherings, from a quiet family dinner to a raucous cookout, making food even more ingrained in our social dealings. Of course, that which invigorates life can also handicap it, which is increasingly evident in Western(ized) societies. Having been born, raised, and still living in the South, I see these effects every time I walk out my front door. I admit that I’ve become a bit of a snob when it comes to this issue, having busted my hump to NOT be part of those statistics, but I won’t get into that here.

Instead, I want to talk about food in the context of the rising prices we’re all facing in this country right now. It’s personally not a huge deal for me since it’s just me and the girlfriend comprising the grocery bill, and she eats less and just as relatively cleanly as I do (tough to go 24/7 with that when she works at an awesome BBQ joint—I will miss that when she changes jobs, but at least she’ll be happier in her work after leaving). If all continues as-is, we’ll continue to be the only human-food eaters in the house ad infinitum, so the bill will remain fairly low (three-plus dogs aren’t that expensive to feed). However, that’s not to say we haven’t had to do some tinkering with the budget here and there to offset rising food and fuel prices, so I have to imagine that those with families and/or more expensive eating habits have had to make their own adjustments. In a previous post, I linked a couple pages with suggestions on how to get into more self-sufficient dietary practices (here, here, and here), but more and better ideas are coming to light from all over the place as prices continue to rise with no end in sight.

If you haven’t noticed by now, I link a lot to Mark Sisson’s blog, Mark’s Daily Apple (also linked in the right-hand sidebar here). If you get my blog on RSS and not his, do yourself a favor and go subscribe. If nothing else, it’ll save you a lot of time reading here, plus his posts have better references and trackbacks, and they have pictures! At any rate, Mark tackled head-on the issue of eating HEALTHILY on a budget this week, first offering some general grocery shopping tweaks and later tossing out some recipes to complement the earlier post. Combine his stuff with the DIY stuff I linked above, and suddenly your grocery bill sees some significant shrinkage with only minimal extra effort—those with kids can turn gardening and composting into some kind of family-time game, I’m sure. I mean, c’mon, tell me it wouldn’t be hilarious to watch a chicken chase your kid around the yard and vice versa. See? Even more savings with the fun and cheap entertainment at home. You’re welcome.

Eating locally is fast becoming a bigger focus for retailers and consumers alike—this involves your raw food ingredients, not schlepping down to the local burger joint—more recently in light of the whole salmonella/tomato flap (it seems some peppers are still suspect). The takeaway point of that whole thing is that when you don’t buy locally, you never really know where your food is coming from, how it’s been handled, how it’s been stored, etc. Just how local you go is up to you—I personally have no problem eating pigeon, but you might.

Aside: I took a break from writing this post to go knock out some errands, which included grocery shopping. I hate grocery shopping, so I usually got to a wholesale club once a month to stock up and freeze stuff. I don’t think much needs to be said about what I saw there: buggies (yes, not “carts” :P) surrounded by and/or leading families of a half-dozen or more piled to the brim with cheese puffs, potato chips, frozen pizzas, and cases of soda. In my cart: beef roast, salmon, chicken, cottage cheese, turkey lunchmeat and wheat bread (for when I’m short on time and just need a quick snack), and a bag of frozen mixed fruit (for shakes). ‘Nuf said.

Christmas Past:
—Dr. Eades weighs in on the recent study that showed low-carb diets are the most healthful.
—In continuing commentary on the unscientific nature of many purported scientific studies, is the Internet watering down research?
—Global warming could be hazardous to our health. Gosh, no, really? Shocking.
—Eric’s usual Friday randomness.
—Another installment of age not mattering.

Christmas Present:
—Yes, Tony actually works out, too.
—Speaking of which, I haven’t thrown out a truly exercise-focused link in awhile, so Eric explains the differences between—and complementary nature of—dynamic and repetition efforts.
—Some quick words on fat loss from Bill and Leigh.
—Some anti-oxidant love from Mark (in addition to the groceries listed above, I hit a nearby Trader Joe’s for a couple bottles of Two-Buck Chuck merlot—if you have a TJ’s in your area, you have no excuse for not getting the benefits of red wine on the cheap).
—Quantity of healthcare is among tops in the world here, but what about quality or even access? Are we really getting our money’s worth?
—Just what we need: another baby boom(let). I guess that happens when budget-tightening cuts into other entertainment expenses.
—Along similar lines, are we actually breeding shyness and singlehood?
—According to the Environmental Protection Agency, each of us is worth $6.9 million. I think I’m a bargain at that price ;)
—Geek-out: lock bumping, world’s fastest electric vehicle (so far), a year of living biblically, nomophobia.

Sugar plums dancing:
—Happy birthday to Brad Pilon, who did his own “ten years ago” reflection.
—What is athletic intelligence?
—When choice is removed from the equation, we all become a lot more capable.

Choke

What’s the first thing that came to mind when you read the title of this post? Probably something less-than-ideal, no? Maybe you took too big a bite at supper one night and experienced the mild panic of having to force yourself to cough and hack, uncontrollably and sometimes painfully, to remove the obstruction while trying to avoid breathing in for fear of making the situation worse. After last night’s marathon All-Star Game, you might be thinking about Dan Uggla’s impersonation (a few times over) of Bill Buckner in the 1986 World Series (no one remembers how good this guy actually was—he was/is defined by one choke). How about Scott Norwood in Super Bowl XXV or Chris Webber in the 1993 NCAA men’s basketball championship game? (Okay, maybe that last one was more of a brain fart than a choke, but c’mon, UNC beating Michigan was akin to the Dodgers beating the Athletics in 1988.) In the context of this blog, the sports references are easy. In competition, the “choke” is always a possibility, the “oops” that costs the game/match/title for someone and/or a team.

However, there’s another, more benign, even beneficial side to choking (easy there, peanut gallery). Little Leaguers are told to choke up on the bat to (a) swing faster, (b) swing under control, and (c) increase the chances of making contact with the ball (I never could—and still can’t—swing effectively with a choked-up grip, which is probably why I never got far in baseball or golf). Two-cycle engines (think lawn mowers, weed eaters, etc) have a choke mechanism that provides a fuel-rich mixture to assist in starting and warming up the engine until a more balanced fuel-air mixture is appropriate for operation. Until recently (and maybe some still do), some cars had choke controls on the dashboard (my father’s 1980s VW Rabbit differed from a Model-T in starting procedures only in that you didn’t have to get out and hand-crank the engine).

At the suggestion of several people, I decided to go for a short ride on my Harley today. More often than not, I wouldn’t need any convincing, but it’s been just over six weeks since I last touched the thing. Ever since I got back from Little Rock, I’ve had no desire to ride—after all, it was a fourteen-hour ride each way, done in one day each. No matter that it was exactly three years ago today that I brought that baby home. No matter that whenever I pass an oncoming motorcycle while driving my truck that my first instinct is to wave (for the record, I wear a helmet religiously, and not because some lawmaker says I have to, but that’s not a soapbox for this blog unless you want to get into a fear-mongering mindset, insurance rates, pothole (dis)repair—sorry, my bad…). At any rate, considering that I decided to take a rare hooky day from working out—I’m still recovering from a rather brutal workout yesterday—I went for a ride today.

I should say here that I promised the girlfriend a ride the next time I went out. However, I was idle while she was doing clinical work for school, so I’ll just call this a safety-check ride for the NEXT next time. That engine hadn’t fired nor had those tired rolled in a month-and-a-half, after all, right? Right? Yeah, shut up and hand me that shovel…

Motorcycles, despite having four-stroke engines, have a choke control similar to the aforementioned lawn equipment. If it doesn’t sit idly while warming up, general warm-weather, underway guidelines are to use full-choke for about five miles, half-choke for another five, and no-choke after that. You have to ease the machine into full working condition one way or another because it’ll be a bumpy, jerky ride if you try to start out on no-choke, if you can get going at all, and even if you could get going, repeat that practice enough times and you’re likely to incur some unnecessary wear and damage. Sound like I’m going somewhere with this?

My route today was simple. Since I live practically in downtown Charlotte, I decided to take a turn around the I-485 almost-loop just to stretch the bike’s legs, so I took I-77 to I-85 to the northern end of the almost-loop and ran it clockwise (with a brief detour down to South Carolina via the southern I-77 interchange for cheaper gas) around to NC16, then decided to run the in-town I-277 mostly-loop counterclockwise back home. Okay, trust me, it was simpler than it sounds, almost 100 miles of riding, which is about my limit of physical comfort (I can go and have gone much farther, but it turns into a grind after that point if I don’t take a break). Something I noticed while I was out was a lot more people driving the speed limit or lower—choking up on the accelerator—most likely due to gas prices, especially the Expedition I was behind for part of the ride, not to mention that I hit traffic at the morning dead time, so I was able to hang back and do at or just under the speed limit for much of the time, a sometimes conscious effort as I tend to zone out (not in a bad way) and speed up a little, so I had to concentrate on choking up at the throttle. Is my point starting to become apparent?

Starting something—anything, whether it’s physical, mental, emotional, or even spiritual—needs some priming, some choking, some holding back at first to get your bearings and ease into it. Granted, on rare occasions, it’s best to just jump in with both feet (like ripping off a band-aid), and some people do respond well to sudden changes in direction, but these are exceptions, not the norm. More often than not, gradual progress is the key to success. Most of the best training programs I’ve seen involve a break-in period of a week or four. Most of the best nutrition programs I’ve seen include a similar break-in period. When someone asks me how to go about changing X or Y or reaching some goal, I usually suggest several options but emphasize only one or two things. For example, the single thing I recommend most when someone asks me about diet is to change or drop the soda consumption, even if there are other calorie-laden drinks involved. If the person can handle a bigger shift of dropping all those drinks, more power to him or her, but the soda thing is usually a good, achievable first goal. How about the first steps of physical fitness (assuming diet is in order)? Start using a dynamic warm-up that includes some mobility and anatomical balance work.

Of course, this doesn’t mean to keep the proverbial choke engaged forever. If I did that with my Harley, just like using no-choke, there would be little or no short-term impact, at least not anything noticable, but the long-term effects would be just as damaging (albeit in different parts of the engine). As I’ve talked about before, don’t be afraid of risk, but make sure you’re doing so with some reserve and some conviction. Test the waters, expect some discomfort at the start of anything new (like carbohydrate withdrawals, which I’ll address below), and don’t be afraid to experiment. Just don’t expect results from Seven-Minute Abs:

Stuff from recently before:
—I mentioned before how local students may be walking farther to catch the bus (apologies for the broken link in that other post; it seems charlotte.com likes to change their article URLs randomly, so this may happen with others as well—please let me know if it does so I can track down working URLs). It sort of naturally follows that all that walking, combined with global warming, may just cure obesity as long as more prevalent kidney stones don’t incapacitate us first. (Question: If exhaust drops because of lower fuel consumption because of rising prices, will global warming continue as the Chicken Littles proclaim?)
—Speaking of education, teachers may soon need CPR/AED/First Aid certifications at this rate.
—It looks like doctors will continue to receive full Medicare payments. For now.
—Exercise may slow (and possibly halt) brain shrinkage associated with Alzheimer’s.

Stuff from not recently before:
—A recent study highlights the benefits of a low-carb diet compared to low-fat and Mediterranean diets. It also suggests the overall difficulty of losing weight. However, the study is flawed—note the caloric limitations that Mark points out—and therefore scientifically inconclusive (remember to scrutinize not only your sources—including me—but also the “studies” on which they base their information). If you’re going low-carb, avoid low energy levels, but let’s face it: eating is just plain fun.
—As slippery a slope as this could become (if it hasn’t already), I can’t argue with (temporary) state-funded efforts working to shrink/eliminate food deserts.
—This just in: kids get less active as they get older.
—More possibilities on how we’ve gone overboard on antibiotics.
—Big Tobacco gets more big blame for targeting teens (and younger). Question: Where are/were the parents?
—Pre-geek out: happy birthday to the atomic bomb! Beauty can be deadly.
—Geek out: Totally Looks Like, digitally-fabricated houses, Woody Allen interviews Billy Graham, maybe there really was/is water on Mars, fourteen songs that should never play in a bar (I could add a few more to the list), Do Not Call registry (I’ve suddenly been getting HAMMERED by telemarketers over the past two weeks), a motorcycle with 410-cubic-inches of displacement!

Stuff from inside:
—A truly fit body requires a fit mind as well.
—I’ve mentioned it before, but here’s more support for knowing WHY you’re doing what you’re doing.
—Are you now where you thought you’d be ten years ago? What you think about ten years from now? Is a change—or multiple changes—in order?

Wall-E offends

I’ve been wanting to say something about this movie—and the reactions it’s been garnering among a select few—for awhile, but I also wanted to see the movie for myself before doing so. Let me say upfront that I’m a huge Pixar fan. They’ve made nine movies so far, eight of which are on DVD, and I own five of those (just couldn’t get into the Toy Story movies or A Bug’s Life, and of course, Wall-E hasn’t been released yet). Their short films are hilarious (my favorite is For the Birds), and they are masterful at carefully and equally balancing appeal for both children and adults—I think I laugh more (and more loudly) than any kids in the theater. Speaking of which, before I get into the meat of the matter, this was a nice reminder of why I detest movie theaters—prices, crowds, general impoliteness and dumbf*ckery, twenty minutes of previews and COMMERCIALS! Grrr…

I’m not sure if Wall-E is DVD-worthy for me—it’s visually designed for theaters and IMAX—but aside from just being a Pixar product, I wanted to see it after I saw a discussion with a link to this blog (I piggybacked off this discussion here—note: it contains some minor spoilers which are mirrored below). I especially like how the fat obese weight-challenged are now akin to oppressed racial minority groups. In the thread I started over at JP Fitness, “Mad Mel” linked a couple more topical items on what kids watch, so not only is Wall-E offensive to fat obese weight-challenged people, it’s also a potential threat to kids’ health and self-esteem. In other words, the victim mentality is alive and well when it comes to issues that disagree with people’s opinions (and even call them out on how they expect accommodation for perceived disabilities rather than truly unchangeable ones). In a single word mentioned before: offensensitivity.

(Thanks to this random blog for posting this comic strip that I’ve been unable to find for a long time until now.)

It’s no longer enough to fear/hate/ostracize/eliminate the things we don’t know. Now, this applies to things that simply disagree with our own dogmas and religions, both sacred and secular. Thank goodness for the Internet; otherwise, how on earth would we (a) find out about stuff we didn’t like and (b) express outrage that such things even exist? Please. As I noted later on in the second discussion thread:

***SPOILER ALERT***

1. The movie is set 700 years after the last humans leave Earth or die off. That’s not an insignificant amount of time for society to become 100% obese considering the rate at which it’s happening now.

2. Prolonged (read: over generations) exposure to microgravity has a negative effect on bone density, so with little/no gravity to stress the skeleton (and no perceived need to exercise since the exodus was supposed to only be five years), bones become less important and therefore shrink. This is explained in the movie. If anything, humans’ obesity is justified by long-term living in outer space. There is no mockery of current health trends.

3. The technological addiction portrayed is a very easy logical jump from our current electronic communications style. Hell, if this was really an issue, why didn’t people boycott the last Matrix movie? Oh yeah, because it was rife with religious overtones. Nevermind.

Harumph.

So, what exactly does it mean to be healthy? I like Brad’s thoughts on the matter. Why? Because that puts the onus of responsibility on the person—the adult individual—to conduct himself or herself in a manner that promotes bodily health, no matter how much it may hurt the ego to do so. Children are at the mercy of their parents, unfortunately in some cases, as the parents may have already-developed poor health habits through ignorance, defiance, or sheer laziness (I won’t go into a situation I’ve personally witnessed over the past several months). Even our pets are at risk, it seems. And who gets the blame? Everyone else (man, I LURVE me some Five Guys!)—Paul also mentions the childhood cholesterol prescription issue in that link as well. It’s all society’s fault, right? Of course it is…

Some quick links to previously discussed issues:
—Simplicity, moderation, consistency…
—Eric takes his turn at lamenting poor research methods.
—Mass media addresses “that guy/girl” in the gym. Personally, I’m offended by the “heavy sweater” label *snicker* If only every gym had a sign like the one at Cressey Performance *sigh* While I’m at it, let me wax nostaglic for a moment on the Gold’s Gym in Myrtle Beach. What a great gym, not so much from an equipment standpoint—not that there’s anything wrong with it, just you and I can make great workouts anywhere—but from the people (or lack of certain ones), the (good) attitude, and generally friendly atmosphere. If you’re ever down that way and need a gym, go there during working hours if at all possible.
—Still little/no love for carbs or cardio. If you like them, do them, but just know how they affect your goals (and sanity). At least know your chocolate.
—I mentioned last time (after the rambling opener) that regular, consistent assessment is important in checking to see if you’re heading in the right direction. Please make sure that your assessments are (1) relevant and (2) specific.
—Age is STILL not an excuse, so STFU and GTFO.

Now the newer mess:
—Last night, I succeeded in my first attempt at making low-carb stuffed squash (read: there was no follow-up call to Domino’s). In honor of this achievement, I present to you some fun food photos (here and here).
—Stiffness and shortness and watermelon. That’s just too easy (all SFW, by the way).
—There might be a health-related silver lining to skyrocketing gas prices.
—Oooooo, pretty food—oh, wait a minute… yeah, YOU try pronouncing half the stuff in the ingredient list.
—Cigarette usage reportedly continues to decline (congrats to Terry and his wife for kicking the nicotine recently!); teenage pregnancies reportedly rise for the first time in fifteen years. Is a smoking/Bill Clinton joke too easy (and inappropriate) here?
—School deconsolidation was a big issue not too long ago around these parts under the guise of better, more involved teachers; better parental support (of and by); and lower costs. Of course, the powers-that-be swatted the community away by saying GovCo knows better than the public. Now, it looks like healthcare might be making its own attempt to localize and personalize. Place your bets now, folks.
—Happy trails to pioneering heart physician Dr. Michael E. DeBakey.
—Geek-out: Corvette ZR1 (even though I’m a Harley guy, I still appreciate four-wheeled engineering), The Storm Track, fighting umbrellas.

Finally, your words of wisdom:
—Coach Steer reminds you that there’s nothing wrong with being strong.
—Ross resurrects an oldie-but-goodie.
—Mike karaokes the theme of CSI: who are you?
—Mr. Tanaka gives you a six-pack of what it takes to achieve success (hint: it ain’t Budweiser).

Plagiarism etc…

No, no one is plagiarizing me (that I know of, and if they were, that’s REALLY scraping the bottom of the barrel) nor am I plagiarizing anyone else. I say the former because (1) I haven’t been writing on here that long, (2) I’m not really presenting any “new” material here (just links to other people’s stuff in context), and (3) I HIGHLY doubt anyone could make money from ripping off the content found on this blog; I say the latter because, let’s face it, I’m still a relative neophyte in the realm of fitness/lifestyle writing. As you’ve noticed, I can crank out two or three pages worth of stuff at the drop of a hat—thank you, liberal arts studies—but as far as producing original and specific content, I’m nowhere near there yet (c’mon, I just got my CSCS study materials in the mail yesterday).

However, that doesn’t mean there aren’t people out there ripping off others’ work and trying to pass it off as their own (and profit from it). Unless you’re a regular reader of several blogs, forums, and product sites, you probably don’t realize some of the more recent episodes that’ve popped up—I sure wouldn’t know about them if I didn’t follow these sources (most, if not all, of which are linked to the right). Back in April, there was a spirited discussion surrounding the apparent plagiarism of someone who was thought to be one of the up-and-comers in the fitness industry. That was followed up this week by the calling-out of another high-profile industry “guru” for similar practices (developing discussion here).

I’m not sure what to say about these cases other than I followed the writings—and bought some of the product—by one of these persons. That’s not to say it wasn’t good product overall, but the integrity of the content is now in serious question. As I mentioned before, all (I think) of the blogs and forums I follow are linked to the right, and when one of those writers comes into as much scrutiny as this, I remove those links until I feel the writer(s) in question are cleared of any reasonable doubt. Let me say that I only know in person a tiny handful of the people behind the scenes of those blogs and forums, but I want my information—and the information I pass along to you—to be as original, potent, relevant, and practical as possible.

/teacher mode

Now, to break up some of the tension, I present to you Tony Gentilcore’s latest offering. Take note of (most of) the comments on that post. Maybe the spinning sex-grunter should pair up with this guy (oh wait, is it plagiarizing if I copy my own words?). Too bad he and Eric Cressey work up on Boston; otherwise, this sign in their gym could be reason enough to move there to train:

Since this was an unplanned blog, the following will encompass the “etc” portion of the title in the customary hodgepodge format (no overarching theme today beyond the first part of the writing). That’s not to say there isn’t anything to talk about. In fact, I was already gearing up for another nutrition-focused writing, so I can go ahead and toss some of that stuff your way, but first, I want to follow up on a few issues I’ve already tackled in previous posts as others have done their own writing and updates on the matters:

—Dr. Eades weighs in on statin prescriptions for children (hint: he ain’t happy about it).
—Young athletes are showing more injuries found more commonly in adult athletes (here, too—wait, isn’t that the EXACT same story on two DIFFERENT news sites? Oh wait, it’s the Associated Press, so nevermind). Here are some simple tricks for pain relief during treatment (I especially like the pinwheel idea).
—The new name/face/mind behind Male Pattern Fitness (formerly by Lou Schuler) is… Andrew Heffernan *riotous applause* His introductory post is reminiscient of some of my substitute teaching days.
—Coach Steer adds his take on reaching and maintaining your body’s “set point” that Alan Aragon talked about at this year’s JP Fitness Summit.
—Gary Tanaka offers his thoughts on keeping a food journal (hint: it’s a good thing).
—For simplicity’s sake, I’ve mentioned before—as have others—that a calorie is a calorie is a calorie, which is true up to a point, but if you’re serious about some body composition goals, it still helps to put calories into context.
—While I’m not all for grains, I realize that they are going to be a part of the American diet—and I fully intend to down a whole loaf of sourdough, with or without candle(s), from Nova’s on my upcoming birthday—so when it comes to your bread, as with other things, be wary of what you’re actually eating. Here are some good summertime alternatives anyway. Follow-up follow-up: As I was writing this, I was also emailing Alan Aragon about the bread link, to which he said:

The fact that one type of bread has a greater or lesser glycemic/insulinemic response than another has no bearing on body composition, but total calorie balance over time does. As for health implications, unless you’re diabetic and intend to eat half a loaf of bread a day (as opposed to 2-4 slices), then the glycemic response of the bread might matter — only in the event of a total caloric surplus.

And there it is.
—Piggybacking off earlier commentary on marketing and advertising, are your cravings truly physical, or are they just mental manifestations?
—Age is still not an excuse.

Now for some relatively untouched subjects (not all of which are directly relevant to our well-being, but I’ll save those for the end of the list):

—More so than with grains, I’m not a fan of “cardio” (boot camps are a totally different—and awesome—animal if designed and executed correctly), but hey, if it gets people off the couch, it’s better than nothing. Just make sure that, no matter what you’re doing, you’re periodically checking to see that you’re progressing toward your goals.
—Light beer contains alcohol just like regular beer, though maybe with fewer calories but no fewer buzzwords, but in a shocking revelation, “light” or “low-tar” cigarettes is found to still contain harmful (amounts of) carcinogens.
—You still have to leave the couch (for the most part) to get your hands on the more popular movies, but plenty of others are available sans movement, but where’s the fun in that?
—DIY DNA.
—It seems unruly patients aren’t the only ones allegedly abusing nurses. At least there’s a chance that you’ll see fewer office supplies bearing the names of drug companies’ products. Maybe. Then there’s the recent Medicare flap, which is a whole book or four in and of itself, which could be a bigger issue than it already is if human bias really is a problem.
—Drug abuses are perpetuated online (here and here—yes, two more or less different writings!)? The hell you say. I guess all those spam emails for Viagra and other “natural male enhancement” pills are legit, eh? Maybe I really should send my bank account information to the deposed yet rightful prince of Nigeria…
—Mini geek-out: animation technology is finally reaching a point where biology can feasibly be a huge inspiration; say good-bye to some of the already few mornings you get to sleep in.

Finally, a little encouragement from Gary, who notes that he’s been focusing more on the mental approach to training (and life) lately. Remember, it could always be worse, or maybe it has been, but your mentality is ultimately the key to your success (see: Alpo).

—————

UPDATE – July 11, 2008: The person in question at the center of the latest plagiarism situation has issued a response via email that he also allowed to be posted in the above-referenced discussion forum. I’ll post further updates if/when they become available.

UPDATE – July 13, 2008: A co-author speaks.

UPDATE – July 14, 2008: As is customary on the Internet, the afore-linked developing discussion has turned into a name-calling pissing contest. Nothing like winning an online argument, eh? At any rate, the accuser has yet to reply to the accused’s response. I’ll update when/if that happens; otherwise, I won’t add anything else here. Once the whole story comes out, I’ll restore the removed blog and website links if warranted. Otherwise, I’ll just keep wondering how people can act like there’s nothing else wrong in the world and therefore turn something like this into a cyber-circus.

UPDATE – July 18, 2008: Bit late on this update, but the accuser (I think) responded, albeit on his own forum rather than his more public blog. At this point, I couldn’t give a roaring rip considering how much this has blown up with very few facts and a shit-ton of speculation and assumption. Sorry, the rest of the world isn’t exactly fixed yet, so this doesn’t warrant anymore attention from me (pending actual litigation or a blaze-of-glory nosedive from someone).

Nom nom nom nom…

I hadn’t planned on yet another post so soon, but a couple blogs got me going this morning (that and some grow-hair-in-previously-unknown-areas coffee—I’m sure the girlfriend will love getting to use the clippers more, but I digress).

Mike Eades has a way of making light of issues many of us don’t know are issues in the first place. Under the gun today: scientific bias, namely manipulating and re-writing data to fit a preconceived hypothesis/bias, especially when that data contradict the bias. Now, before I go any further, I urge you to read that post. Seriously, it’ll take you ten or fifteen minutes, but it’s completely worth it, so head on over there. Go ahead. I’ll wait…

…

…

*looks around, whistling*

…

Oh, look, a blue car!

…

…

*checks non-existent fingernails*

…

So, what’d you think? After reading Dr. Eades’ blog, I immediately thought of a spate of recently published articles talking about screening and medicating children for high cholesterol (here, here, here, and here, and wrapped up neatly by Mark a couple hours after I initially posted this blog). Really? Kids with high cholesterol? How did they get that way in the first place (and no, it’s not genetic)? And why the sudden, severe, knee-jerk reaction? Please, it’s “for the children,” and we’d do anything to protect them, no matter what the extreme (I’ll refrain from getting on a soapbox about bubble-wrapped kids and helicopter parents… for now…). How about kicking them out of the house this summer (read: make it more dangerous for them to be inside than outside). I’ll let a quick exchange from Finding Nemo say the rest of what needs to be said right now:

MARLIN
No. I promised him I’d never let anything happen to him.

DORY
Huh. That’s a funny thing to promise.

MARLIN
What?

DORY
Well, you can’t never let anything happen to him. Then nothing would ever happen to him. Not much fun for little Harpo.

Of course, it’s not just the kiddies at risk. Think about some recurring themes that have been largely fueled by mass media and/or advertising: single-serve packaging, enlarged hearts in athletes, out-of-control college students (aside from Girls Gone Wild, and yes, that’s only 157 people over a six-year period), governmental responsibility—rather than your own—in basic healthcare (at least Gerberding seems to be campaigning for educating the masses on taking individual responsibility), condoning “if it feels good” behaviors, stability “training“, and general offensensitivity (thanks to Berkeley Breathed for that term).

So, what should we really worry about? Franklin Roosevelt’s words still hold true today. People fear the unknown, and for the most part, marginalize and summarily seek to eradicate it. I’m not saying to simply become blissfully ignorant of the world around you; on the contrary, I’m a huge advocate of education and self-improvement in all aspects, but don’t be a sheep. Discriminate in your mental diet just as you would in your physical one. Trust your own intelligence without relying solely on mass media to spoon-feed you “information.” Believe in your abilities and your goals. Just don’t go overboard on the whole belief thing—be flexible enough to test and possibly incorporate new information that may not fit your belief system yet turns out to be more beneficial. For some more movie magic, Dogma presents an excellent discussion on the matter:

RUFUS
The brother was centered. I mean, He was God, right? But I think He felt left out because He was more than human, you know? We used to sit around the fire – me and the other guys – and we’d be talking about what ass-holes the Romans were or getting laid…

BETHANY
Some things never change.

RUFUS
…and He’d just sit there listening and smiling. We’d ask Him why He never joined in the convo, but He said He just liked to hear us talk; about anything. Said it was like music. I think He just wished He had unimportant shit to talk about himself.

BETHANY
How does He feel now?

RUFUS
He still digs humanity, but it bothers Him to see the shit that gets carried out in His name – wars, bigotry, but especially the factioning of all the religions. He said humanity took a good idea and, like always, built a belief structure on it.

BETHANY
Having beliefs isn’t good?

RUFUS
I think it’s better to have ideas. You can change an idea. Changing a belief is trickier. Life should be malleable and progressive; working from idea to idea permits that. Beliefs anchor you to certain points and limit growth; new ideas can’t generate. Life becomes stagnant. That was one thing the Man hated – still life. He wanted everyone to be as enthralled with living as He was. Maybe it had something to do with knowing when He was going to die, but Christ had this vitality that I’ve never encountered in another person since. You know what I’m saying?

BETHANY
He was big on life?

RUFUS
It was more than that. He was the only person I ever knew who never engaged in that most ancient of life-affirming activities.

BETHANY
Sex.

RUFUS
Debate. That’s the only way people know how to reaffirm that they’re alive – by debating. In all its forms. People spend their whole lives debating: we fight about who’s right and who’s wrong, we fight ourselves, we fight each other, we fight death, we fight over beliefs, we fight over fights. We believe that to stop debating – in any fashion – is to stop living and give up. People say that life’s a struggle, but it’s not. Life is living. I’m even guilty of it myself, the way I go on about Christ’s ethnicity, fighting for the truth to come out. And I’m dead. Even in death, the only way I know how to live is through debate. That’s sad, isn’t it?

BETHANY
Not if you believe it’s important for people to know.

RUFUS
A belief’s a dangerous thing, Bethany. People die for it. People kill for it. The whole of existence is in jeopardy right now … All over a belief.

Okay, my apologies, I didn’t intend for this to become a soapbox, even though I said I was refraining from that. No, really, I’d intended for this to be a diet-focused blog, which I’m getting to right now:

—The tanking economy is affecting our most basic needs (read: food), but Paul shares a Time magazine article on going gourmet on a budget.
—Mmmm… breakfast… Kinda sucks that Bojangles is currently running a special on its Cajun Filet biscuits (nom nom nom nom…).
—If you ascribe to the during- and/or post-workout feeding period, keep this in mind: it’s only an issue if you’re doing an hour-plus of endurance work (read: half-marathons, marathons, full triathlons, etc). If you’re just doing a spinning class for forty-five minutes, you’re shooting yourself in the foot with that Gatorade.
—Age doesn’t matter (unless you’re cheese). Example: my friend John Mahler (thanks to Roland for noting that this is his stage name only; see times 0:06 and 1:13), who started lifting at 52 (about seven years ago) and deadlifts (for reps) more than I do (for singles).
—Awesome, a mainstream media tip on how to get drunk more quickly *rolls eyes* At least be healthier about it.
—Have some dietary and/or body composition goals? Start a food journal. Seriously. Here’s a popular, FREE online journal that I use when I need to dial in my own nutrition.
—More love for Bill Hartman (here and here, and no, this isn’t nutrition-related)
—Totally unrelated geek-outs: English, Stradivarius, laughter, weaponry, video games, two years of OLPC

Happy July 4th!

Okay, let’s be honest here. For one, I’m really only writing this because I’m stuck at work for a couple more hours before appropriately celebrating our nation’s independence (plus there’s been a LOT of link fodder the past couple days). For two, I sincerely hope that you’re not going to see this until Monday because you’re out celebrating as well (this goes for Canadians, too—Canada Day was only three days ago, so y’all should just be hitting your stride in celebrating, right?).

That being said, as I have yet to begin my own festivities for the afternoon, it’s certainly been a day rife with rant material (some of which is summarized here and here). Here’s a quick-and-dirty run-down of some other forehead slappers:

—With it being July 4, here are a couple pertinent to today. Apparently, sitting on your keister outside to watch fireworks is just too eco-unfriendly, but it’s okay to crank the A/C and the light and sound systems. At least someone finally thought to, ya know, preserve our nation’s most important document. Eventually. Also, is this really necessary?
—Eric Cressey posted an interesting image in his customary week-ending blog today. I have a really strong suspicion as to the name of the gym franchise that posted that sign, but seeing as how I don’t really care to incur any legal woes because of a rambling, ranting blog, I’ll save that for individuals’ interest. Let’s just say any place that posts a sign like that has very little genuine interest in the health of its clients and is instead more interested in its bottom line.
—Because I know you’ve been looking for the perfect way to mindlessly blow $25,000, I present you with TG’s offering of the day. I think the above-mentioned gym’s mindset applies here, too. Speaking of overhype… (no, really, even the restaurant’s owner says the clamor is ridiculous).
—Since when did gym equipment become a status symbol? Again, same mindset. Noticing a trend yet?
—I can’t leave the pharmaceutical companies out here. After all, aren’t they sort of the trendsetters in this area? (Hey, look! A magic pill!)
—Of course, the whole healthcare system is so politicized that it just doesn’t seem worth it sometimes (better get that check-up ASAP if you’re on Medicare or Medicaid). At least it seems skyrocketing insurance costs are prompting businesses to promote better baseline healthcare among their employees (yes, a glimmer of optimism amid this diatribe).
—Speaking of healthcare, why has it always been and continues to be acceptable to perform procedures on newborns without pain relief? And don’t even get me started on the physical ramifications of circumcisions (NSFW videos of Penn & Teller’s TV program on the issue – one, two, three)
—Here’s yet another example of holding others accountable for your own shortcomings (Dr. Mike has a great attitude about this—hey, sometimes, you just have to laugh)…
—…but people will keep buying anything labeled with the buzzword of the day.
—Along those lines, add “gyno spa” to the list. I guess that’s easier to say than Kegel, though obviously a lot more expensive, but at least you can blame someone else if it doesn’t work.
—Finally, just because I’m a word geek and happen to be on a roll right now, here’s some fodder from Uncle Sam’s military wing.

Yes, that was a TON and not so much quick-and-dirty. My bad. However, I don’t want to (ever) leave off a post on a bad note. Instead, here are some of the better, somewhat hopeful things to pass through my eyeballs over the past couple days:

—By now, you’ve probably caught on that I’m not exactly grain-friendly, but is there any way to avoid them? Leave it to Mark (as always) to guide you through the nutritional minefields.
—By the way, there is no such thing as bad cholesterol, just optimal percentages. Attributing “good” and “bad” labels creates a dogmatic, all-or-nothing mindset (in many more areas than just dealing with cholesterol).
—Students might start to forge their own childhood stories of walking forever to school (yeah, right, but one can always hope).
—Heat and humidity acclimation works to a point, but by and large, you just have to get used to it. If nothing else, you can chuckle to yourself as you run by a gym with all the hamster wheels—er, treadmills and ellipticals burning little more than electricity.
—More of a “duh” than anything else, at least proper hydration is being addressed in a more mainstream environment.
—Foam rollers and other self-myofascial release tools are (still) the poo (I can personally attest to the roller Eric linked in this post).

Now we come to the motivational portion of our show (yes, there actually is one today):

—Don’t assume you can’t do something. At least try it first.
—Like I said… (just be sure you’re well prepared first)
—Make sure you know WHY you’re doing WHAT you’re doing.

And finally, some strong words to get you going:

—From Scrubs (of all things).
—From Barbara Guerra.
—From Dave Tate (parts one and two; after various blog and forum discussions, I couldn’t leave this one out, and c’mon, it’s Dave Tate).

Hey, look at that. Putting all that together got me through to quitting time. Sweet. Apologies for the ranting, and thanks for indulging me. Hope y’all have/had a safe, happy, festive July 4th. Only 174 shopping days until Christmas.