People, Meat and Weight

For some reason over the last couple of days several of the blogs I frequent have been discussing obesity and meat vs vegitarianism. I don't really want to get left out, so why not?

I think it's pretty funny that anyone who's on the fringe, minority or who thinks they might be wrong finds it so necessary to stand up on the top of a mountain and shout down for all to hear how their lifestyle choices are so much better than everyone else's. Like they suddenly have found the equation for eternal life, happiness and sunshine. One of these groups of people are vegetarians.

I have several vegetarians in my family and none of them are preachers when it comes to their lifestyle choice. However, I can't stop reading about how celebrities and organizations are so deliberately pushing people to give up meat and eat only vegetables, fruits and grains. Oh, and scarf down the supplements that are required in order to live this way.

I honestly believe it's because people don't bother to research or even understand a single issue. If one report comes out and says 'meat causes obesity', extremists throw away their meat and decry its consumption. The great thing about science is it never lets shit like this sit for long. Pretty soon there'll be another report that shows a more moderate viewpoint. Eventually everything settles and we all learn the truth. However, this usually takes years and years with medical trials, interviews, double blind testing, etc. I mean, look at how long people have been saying cellular phones cause cancer, only to be rebuffed by dozens of scientific reports that were 20 years in the making.

I think it boils down to using common sense, a gift which is apparently in short offering because so few seem to possess it. Let me simplify everything to do with weight gain/loss as simply as I can: Weight gain is when your calories in is greater than your calories burned. Weight loss is when your calories in is less than your calories burned. Simple, yes? I don't care how predisposed a person is to gaining weight, the formula is static.

What about general wellness, you ask? How does being a vegetarian vs omnivore play into all this? Well, your body is a remarkable entity. It tends to tell you everything you need to know about what you're putting inside it. When you're eating the wrong things you tend to feel less well, gain weight, exhaust quickly. Newsflash: That's your body telling you to eat different stuff. It's no secret that fatty foods and refined sugars are not healthy. It's well documented that carbohydrates make you tired after eating. Drinking water helps flush toxins from your body. It's pretty easy to take those handful of documented science and formulate a meal plan that keeps you healthy.

What about exercise? Yeah, that's always a hot button. You get some folks who tell you exercise is the key and blah blah blah. Look, here's that common sense thing again. Being active will benefit your overall health significantly. This doesn't mean you have to jog 4 miles a day and dedicate your free time to stomach crunches. Just be more active, huh? Park a little further away from your shopping center or work. Take a walk around at lunch, even if it's just for 5 minutes. Think about the things you do every day to make your life slightly more convenient and turn it into an opportunity to walk. Don't ever let someone poo-poo that idea because every single little bit helps.

Lean meat? Yummy and healthy! Carrots and broccoli? Yum-a-dum-dum! Snickers? Fuck that noise. Exercise? Do what you can. Like where all that takes you? Do more when you can. That simple.