Zealotry

I hesitate to reveal too much of myself in these posts because often TMI doesn't serve the reader.  I also know, however, that one of the tenants of acceptable writing is to be invested in your topic and what can be more engaging and personal than food?  Please bear with me.

I am a zealot because I demonstrate excess zeal in the activities that I engage in and I have been guilty, on many occasions, of buying into ideas, organizations and people with fanatical devotion.  I am not so much bothered by the former characteristic but the latter quality has brought me both disappointment and disapproval. In these circumstances when my expectations have not been met or the chink I notice in the armor turns into a chasm I rebel, call attention to the flaw, and exit.

What does this have to do with fitness and health?  Everything. In order to make the most of our existence we must launch ourselves into the causes we strongly believe because if we are going to  jump we need to do it with both feet.  The problem is that we often discover in free fall that we should have read the manual more carefully or maybe stuck a toe in first to see how things felt.
This has been the case for me in relationships, careers, exercise and diet.  I have few regrets (except Shakira will probably never speak to me again) but many scars.  And I am encouraged by the words of Ben Franklin:

"For having lived long, I have experienced many instances of being obliged, by better information or fuller consideration, to change opinions, even on important subjects, which I once thought right but found to be otherwise."

This quote brings into focus the importance of learning.  Learning is change and the more we can embrace change the more we benefit from our experiences.

So let's talk about diet (some more.)  I forgot how personal diets are to people.  By and large people responded positively to last week's post and I had a few passionate conversations with people who strongly disagreed with the low carb approach to eating.  Since then I have read more about the topic and I can safely say that I don't know what-the-fuck to eat.

I continue to feel great on a low carb diet (although this week I consumed four pieces of gluten free bread and a few red bliss spuds with my venison rump roast) but for every proponent of this eating plan there is a detractor.  What this experience has given me is a greater awareness of what I am putting into my body.  I have less than 10% body fat and the stuff that I have resides in my belly region.  That little bit has disappeared, I have not lost muscle or strength and my energy level is excellent, so I will continue with the diet.

There is, however,  consensus when it comes to the consumption of calories in general.  You should consume what you need and no more.  The low carb diet has made me much more conscious of the "healthy" crap I have eaten in the past to stave off hunger or because I wanted to fill the bottomless void in the pit of my soul.  These foods included organic non GMO blue corn chips, rice crackers, non GMO popcorn (and gluten free - really?) and beer (it's a meal), which is near and dear to me.  I haven't been drinking beer (no, that's not true - I had one only to be gracious at a friend's gathering) and when others were reaching for the chips I had to remind myself not to do so.  When I made this adjustment I was o.k. for the remainder of the party, and although salsa was problematic, cheese tasted better without a cracker.

It is a fact that if you eat fewer calories you are less likely to suffer from disease and you are more likely to live longer, so I can recommend that.  And as far as learning from your experiences Ben Franklin strikes again:

"How few there are who have courage enough to own their faults, or resolution enough to mend them."

Be courageous in all of your experiments.