Earning the Right to Celebrate: Strategies for a Healthy HSA Balance

How has the Health Savings Account balance been in 2022? Making lots of deposits in the form of fruits and vegetables, drinking plenty of water, walking daily, and getting to bed consistently at the same time each night?

Or has it been food in boxes and bags, sporadic workout sessions, and late nights spent in front of a screen?

It is time to reconcile the HSA account.

Be honest. If the ledger is solidly in the positive from consistent deposits - great! - then there is a surplus to be drawn against. If the deposits have been random at best, however, now is the time to own up and sacrifice some of those additional withdrawals.

Super Bowl Sunday is this weekend! That means parties with friends and family, chicken wings, chips & dips, carbs deep-fried and smothered with cheese, and plenty of hearty beers and fun cocktails. But not everyone has built up the the HSA account balance enough to make those withdrawals.

Yes, Super Bowl is a time for celebration. And, yes, celebration is an important piece in the Mighty Oak Athletic Circles of Life™. But we all have to earn the right to celebrate. Life cannot be one continuous hedonistic endeavor choked full of every gluttonous pleasure that passes across the table.

Do the work. Make the deposits. Earn the celebration. Then make the withdrawal.

If the work was not as great as it could have been over the past few weeks, that is ok! Attend the celebration and enjoy the time with friends and family. But make the sacrifice - eat the veggie tray and wash it down with water. Is that a bummer? Absolutely! But is serves as good motivation to be mindful of the HSA account ledger in preparation for the next withdrawal. Hey, St. Patrick’s Day is just around the corner!

Happy Super Bowl Sunday!

Unleashing Your Wild Side: Rediscovering Humanity Through Technology Disconnection

What do all the old men bellyache about? The Good Old Days! Things were simpler. Times were better. People had a deeper sense of values. Children were tougher, smarter, and funnier. “Kids today!”

In many respects, those sentiments are nonsense. Most people tend to romanticize the past. Human existence is generally improving with each decade.

Technology, however, has become a double edged sword. While it has brought about massive improvements for most people, it also sucks away a little bit of those people’s humanity. Individuals become less wild animal and more zoo human. Is that a good thing? In some areas of life, like hygiene and housewares, sure. But where the dichotomy lies is in human health.

Technology has improved human health with medical advancements in procedures, medicine, and tools. Imagine surgery without anesthesia!

Technology has also made humans more sedentary and screen obsessed.

Ask the question: “What did my kids and I do on the last snow day?” Was it spent disconnecting from electronics and building a snowman? Or was it enjoyed on the couch streaming TV and surfing social media?

Do not be afraid to disconnect. While it may seem like it is unproductive, disconnecting is extremely productive!

Rest and relaxation is where the magic happens.

When the body and brain are given an opportunity to unwind, physical tension melts away, the mind untangles, and the spirit is lifted.

Sound hippy-dippy? Maybe. Try it. Disconnect from work, school, and electronics for an entire day. Will it be challenging? Sure. That’s the point. Push beyond the comfort zone and experience all the good things waiting just on the other side.

Unlocking Weight Loss: Embracing Inefficiency in Physical Activities

CLICK HERE to access the free movement videos that demonstrate the exercises from the training program above.

Athletic adaptation is the process of the body getting accustomed to a particular exercise or training program through repeated exposure. When the body acclimates to the training, it becomes more efficient at performing those movements. This is great if the goal is to perform in a competitive activity, or to be able to complete tasks with minimal effort. It is not great, however, if the goal is to lose weight.

Weight loss requires inefficient movements. When the body is not accustomed to completing a specific movement, it will require more effort, energy, and ultimately burn more calories to complete those movements. The more calories burned, the better, when attempting to lose weight.

This is why it is important to change physical activities consistently. That does not mean that it requires athletic ADHD - bouncing from one activity to the next every 10 minutes - but it does require variety. That variety should be added every six weeks. Six weeks is the approximate amount of time it takes for the body to adapt and get efficient at a new physical task.

So how can someone add variety? There are dozens of ways to mix up a training program! Start with the F.I.T. acronym - Frequency, Intensity, and Duration. Doing strength and conditioning training five days a week? Try lowering the frequency by swapping one of those sessions for a day of yoga or playing basketball. Or change up the intensity by switching from doing high volume-high intensity strength training, to lifting heavier weights for less reps with longer rest periods in between sets. Or try running 50-yard sprints for 10 minutes in place of a slow three mile jog.

F.I.T. is just one example of ways to add variety and disrupt homeostasis. Other ways include changing the training tools or the angles at which the body is trained. As an example, try swapping out flat barbell bench presses with incline dumbbell presses.

Or try something completely different, like swimming instead of spin class, or bodyweight exercises instead of lifting weights. Again, the opportunities for variety are seemingly endless! 

Take some time to evaluate the current training program and identify 1-2 small changes that can be made to add variety and disrupt homeostasis to keep the body growing and improving. Or start a completely new training program like the one above. It does not require any special equipment, and can be completed in less than 40 minutes. Check out the free explanation videos by clicking here, or reach out to Mighty Oak Athletic with any questions.

Make 2022 the healthiest year yet!

The Ultimate Guide to Permanent Weight Loss: Breaking the Yo-Yo Cycle

This is about the time when many New Year’s resolutions begin to die out. The initial burst of excitement from changing the calendar, slowly begins to melt into the couch with a bag of chips and a Dr. Pepper. Hey, it’s the NFL playoffs!

So what does it take to stick to a resolution? Specifically, what’s does it take to lose weight and keep it off - permanently? Simple. A change in lifestyle.

Many people commit to a change for 6 weeks, see results, then assume that the work is done. This stinkin’ thinkin’ is what leads to the yo-yo effect in weight loss and causes people to get frustrated and give up.

The reality is that most weight loss methods, will work for most people, for about 6 weeks. Then what? People slowly regress back into old habits and the weight creeps back up. Frustrating!

The remedy is to identify the health sins that are causing the weight gain, then make reasonable changes to atone for those health sins, and integrate those changes into a healthy and active lifestyle that will drop the pounds permanently.

The key to this process is making changes that are sustainable. To “never eat bread ever again!” is unreasonable. Who wants to live a life without bread? A better option might be to limit the consumption of breads, grains, and pasta to one serving a day.

Stay strong in the New Year’s resolution for 2022. Do not give up because it is getting challenging. Identify what is making the process difficult to adhere to, correct course, and achieve the goal. Then, keep the new habits as part of a healthy lifestyle moving forward for years to come.

The Surprising Reason Why Yoga Can Transform Your Daily Life

Stretchy pants, soccer moms, and hippy-dippy Earth biscuit types are what most people envision when thinking about a yoga practice. This is not inaccurate! That does not mean that yoga cannot be highly beneficial for most people. It requires a beginner’s mindset, and the ability to keep the ego in check, in order to honestly assess where the body is at physically and what is needed to improve movement and mobility.

For most people, a simple yoga practice can be a complete game changer in their ability to move well and feel healthy. A simple pose like Down Dog will open up the wrists, forearms, shoulders, hips, hamstrings, calves, and ankles. Putting just a handful of movements into motion - the Sun Salutation (video below) - will not only increase flexibility, but improve the body’s ability to move in sync as a coordinated unit.

This improvement in flexibility and movement will make it easier to complete basic activities in daily life, and improve performance in most recreational physical activities.

Sign up for a yoga class, check the ego at the door, and embrace the opportunity to gradually improve mobility, agility, flexibility, and full-body movement patterns.

How To Be Beach Ready All Year Round: A Guide to Living a Healthy and Active Lifestyle

Want to go to the beach? Like right now? Is it possible to pack a bag and be on the next flight to a tropical paradise? Or will it take a few weeks of preparation and planning?

Most people are not always beach ready. While this sounds like it’s about vanity, well, it is. And it isn’t. Always being beach ready is also about living a healthy and active lifestyle all of the time - not just when the calendar turns to a new year, when spring break is around the corner, or summertime brings less clothing and more skin.

Riding a wave of health is actually unhealthy. Fluctuating between periods of great nutrition, consistent movement, and deep rest, alternated with junk food binges, sedentary movie marathons, and restless nights is brutal on the body and the mind.

Live a healthy and active life. All the time. Not just when an exterior factor pushes in the direction of healthier choices. Make health choices consistently, as if that beach vacation were tomorrow. Then, when Eddie calls and says he has two tickets to paradise, it will be easy to pack a bag and leave tonight!

Achieve Your Best Year Yet: Unleash the Power of the 13 Pounds in 30 Days Weight Loss Program

Happy New Year! Time to make that annual resolution to be healthier. Great! No more excuses. Make 2022 healthy and happy - for real!

To help jumpstart the journey, Mighty Oak Athletic is offering newsletter subscribers the 13 Pounds in 30 Days Weight Loss Program for FREE! Simply reply to this newsletter post and request a copy of the program. It will arrive in your inbox.

Thank you to everyone that has been a supporter of Mighty Oak Athletic! It is great having you as a part of the MOA community. We look forward to growing with you in 2022. Cheers to your best year yet!

The Surprising Reason Why Waiting for the Perfect Time is Holding You Back

It is a classic outlook to life - procrastinate doing something until a specific task is achieved first. This perfect timing mindset is one of the enemies of progress. The reason perfect timing is an enemy, is that the one task holding up the other rarely gets done within a reasonable timeframe. This ultimately delays doing something that would benefit from being started immediately.

Health is a great example of this. How many people wait until the New Year to start a new health journey? Why wait? Yes, there are unhealthy activities that take place during the holiday season, but that doesn’t mean that other healthy choices cannot be made. And in doing so, it will be that much easier to transition into a more healthful lifestyle as the New Year takes hold.

Stop making excuses and waiting for that mythical “ideal situation” to improve health. There will always be birthday cakes, holiday gatherings, and boozy brunches. It is a fantasy to think that there will be an ideal time when there are no temptations pulling someone away from a healthy and active lifestyle.

Learning how to maintain a healthy and active lifestyle in the face of those temptations is the key to success. Being healthy is a full-time, lifelong commitment that needs to be adhered to throughout the seasons.

Does that mean that someone cannot enjoy a slice of pie or a Bloody Mary ever again? Of course not. What it means is that health needs to be committed to consistently, day-after-day. Along the way, there will be plenty of opportunities to enjoy life’s more hedonistic pleasures. Make the most of it! Just keep a focus on making healthy choices more often than unhealthy ones, and the ledger in the Health Savings Account will stay in the positive, paying dividends for years to come.

Mastering the Art of Moderation: Navigating the Temptations of the Holiday Season

Attending a private, college-prep high school meant that there was never a shortage of announcements throughout the day. Pledge of Allegiance, Our Father prayers, Hail Mary’s, updates on the latest team sports, clubs, and individual accomplishments.

Most of these announcements were background noise akin to the sound Charlie Brown’s teacher made - “wah, wah-wah wah.” There is one announcement that had staying power. Not because it was all that profound for a group of snarky teenagers, but because it was made consistently, every Friday afternoon, for four years.

The Dean of Students, Mr. Konrad, would come onto the classroom speakers and remind the students that there was an upcoming football game, or that the swim team would be facing their rival in a weekend meet, or that students’ community service logs were due…TODAY! After all of the housekeeping announcements, Mr. Konrad would always finish his Friday schpiel with these words: “And in all things - MODERATION.”

He was right. And more importantly, his advice resonated with a group of wild and crazy teenagers that were going to go out and be wild and crazy teenagers. Preaching abstinence from sex, drugs, and rock & roll would have fallen mostly on deaf ears. By not arguing that the students be prudish and then following it up with the brimstone and hellfire sermon, he simply took a more subtle approach and paraphrased Philippians 4:4-8 “Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice. Let your moderation be known unto all men.”

Relax. This is not a Bible thumper speech. Rather, it is about moderation, freedom of choice, and the lack of freedom from consequence.

To tell a child, “Never drink pop! Always avoid candy! Football is the debil Bobby Bouche!” Is a losing proposition. That hard line will only serve to make the contraband that much more enticing. It is better to preach the gospel of moderation. That way, when a child does over-indulge, those words will be a subconscious reminder rattling around in their brain. Like the band Cake so elegantly says, “Excess ain’t rebellion.”

As the holiday season’s sweets and treats descends on everyone like freshly formed snowflakes, take a moment to mentally practice the mantra: And in all things - MODERATION. As the office cookies make their way around the building, or the after hours social gatherings become a little too boozy, simply take a moment to reframe the situation, identify what is a reasonable amount of merriment, be moderate, and stay healthy and happy this holiday season.

The Power of Embracing Discomfort: Unlocking Mental Toughness and Physical Resilience

This is an amazing time to be alive and living in one of the civilized nations of the world. Sure, there are always some things that need improving, but when compared with another period in time, right here, right now is fantastic.

There are so many opportunities to live a controlled life. It wasn’t that long ago that humans had to submit to the will of Mother Nature. Today, most humans can live a warm, dry, cushioned existence without the need to brave the elements or adapt to the exterior environment. As with many things, this is both a blessing and a curse.

Being comfortable is not something that should be scoffed at as a physical or mental state of the weak-willed. Comfort is calming. It allows the body to relax and the mind to focus its’ energy on creative tasks other than how to stay warm or get cool. Comfort also makes it easier to sleep soundly, eat casually, and move effortlessly. These characteristics of comfort, however, can also have a negative effect on health and wellness.

Constant comfort makes humans soft. Sitting (or defecating!) in a squat position requires balance, coordination, mobility, and strength. Sitting cross-legged on the ground requires the muscles of the core to all be switched on. Or how about resting while lying on the floor. These positions all require being comfortable with discomfort.

What about feeling too warm or too cold? Not dangerously so, like taking a cold outdoor shower in the snow, but more like taking a winter walk in a light jacket. Does every waking moment need to be spent at a balmy 72 degrees in the house, car, and office?

Here is this week’s challenge.

For the next seven days, turn down the thermostat at home, in the car, and at the office, a single degree. That’s one degree a day until it reaches 64 degrees. Then, embrace it. See what changes. Did the body adapt? Does the chill of the outdoors feel less biting? Is the car ride manageable without the heater blasting?

Embrace mild discomfort. Find small ways to pepper it into daily life. Get outdoors and accept that it is cold. Sit on the floor to read a book. Lie on the floor and run the legs up the wall.

Take a comfort break. Push the body just outside of the cozy bubble in which it resides 24/7. Seek out ways to be physically uncomfortable, and be amazed at how the mind sharpens and the body hardens.

Mastering the Holiday Season: Move Towards Health and Happiness with the Athletic Advent Calendar

Watch a race. Most people start out strong. High hopes, smiling faces, and pep in their step. Then how does the race end for most people? With blood, sweat, and tears. Starting strong is easy. Finishing strong is the challenge.

People love making New Year’s resolutions to be healthier in the coming year. What often stifles this attempt is the miserable state in which most people finish the previous year.

The holiday season is a fat-tastic race kicked off on October 31st with binge sessions of peanut butter cups, chocolate bars, and gummies galore. Then it is on to the gorgefest know as Thanksgiving…two slices of pie and a cookie? Why not?! It’s a holiday! Next, loosen up those pants and prepare for the pudgy trudge to Christmas; a weeks-long marathon of eating and drinking with coworkers, friends, and family. Cross the finish line on New Year’s Eve - one last opportunity to eat heavy foods and copious amounts of sugary drinks. Is it really shocking that most people fail in their attempt to be healthy starting January 1st?

This year, take a slightly different approach. Instead of mindlessly succumbing to the hedonistic activities of the holiday season, try peppering in some positive activities that will make it easier to choose other healthy decisions as the holidays grind on.

Mighty Oak Athletic is offering up an Athletic Advent Calendar. This year, finish the holiday season strong by doing one exercise each day. Simply do 20 easy reps of the daily exercise that arrives in the inbox. That’s it.

Each day, Mighty Oak Athletic will email a short video that has the daily movement. Take 20 seconds to complete the movement, then go about the day. No excessive exercise, no food restrictions; just a commitment to move a little bit more between now and the end of the year.

Enjoy the time with friends and family. Celebrate. Indulge in beautiful homemade foods and cocktails that make the season merry and bright. Just do so in a mindful way that incorporates healthy habits and limits the negative impact from over indulging.

Happy holidays!

How To Embrace Boredom: Harnessing the Power of Doing Nothing

Boredom. It is something that has been part of the human psyche for millennia. Humans did not have a constant stream of music, television, movies, sports, games, social media, or organized activities.

While it is great that there is a never-ending list of options to keep people distracted, it comes at a cost. That steady stream of stimulation can be exhausting for the brain and the body. The distraction can also prohibit the creative thoughts that bubble up when the mind is free to roam.

So what is the solution? Don’t fight boredom! Just let it be. Sit with it. Allow the mind to break through the initial desire to find stimulation and let the brain go comfortably numb. Think about anything or nothing at all. Count sheep. Stare at a tree or the wall. Fight the urge to check the phone or fold the laundry. Be bored!

Start small. Try doing nothing for just 5 minutes. For many people this will be challenging! Aim for 5 minutes of boredom a day. Slowly add to the time spent truly doing nothing and be amazed at how the brain and body become happier and healthier.

Mastering the Art of Hunger: How the Mighty Oak Athletic Challenge Prepares You for the Feast of the Year

Most Americans rarely experience hunger. Sure, people get hangry all the time. But that’s different. What about experiencing the sensations that are triggered when the body is burning more calories in a day than it is taking in? That is not the same as eating lunch an hour late because a Zoom meeting ran long.

Take the Mighty Oak Athletic Turkey Time Challenge in the days leading up to Thanksgiving. It’s simple - skip one meal a day. That’s it!

Eat dinner at 7pm? Then skip breakfast and wait until lunch for the next meal. Need breakfast to jumpstart the day? No problem! Pass on lunch and wait for dinner. Need to eat throughout the day? Cool! Enjoy a healthy breakfast and sensible lunch, then skip dinner.

This does not have to be a forever change. It is a great way to disrupt habitual eating, identify true hunger, and build a small caloric deficit leading up to the gluttonous holiday at the end of November.

Embrace discomfort. Don’t obsess about being hungry and don’t get overly-focused on the next meal. Instead, acknowledge what the body is experiencing and use it as an opportunity to recalibrate and prepare for the Feast of the Year.

Happy Thanksgiving!

How To Shed 13 Pounds in 30 Days: The Mighty Oak Athletic Way

The 13 Pounds in 30 Days weight loss program from Mighty Oak Athletic will get you looking and feeling your best in just one month!

The program includes a day-by-day training journal that outlines what to do, when to do it, why it works, and how you will drop the weight.

NO special workout equipment
NO fancy foods or tricky cooking techniques
NO increased time working out or excessive training
NO calorie restriction or starvation

What are you waiting for?

This is the unique program you have been trying to find for years!

The proven 13 Pounds in 30 Days weight loss program will make it happen.

How To Break Free from Helicopter Parenting: Embracing Resilience and Independence

Helicopter Parents. Hovering. Watching every move a child makes to ensure the utmost safety. Whenever a child gets remotely close to a less-than-perfect situation, the helicopter parent swoops in and rescues the child from danger. Whew! That was close.

There is a new parenting style that has taken hold in America. Snow Plow Parenting. These well-meaning moms and dads make every effort to eliminate any challenges or friction that a child faces throughout the day, in order to clear a path to success.

It sounds good. It is certainly well-intentioned and comes from a place of love and caring. The challenge is that this approach to child-rearing often has the opposite effect and develops children into adults that are unable to function when faced with the trials and tribulations that life constantly bombards them with.

The Snow Plow Effect has been applied to the health and wellness community as well. At the first signs of a sniffle, ache, or pain, people immediately begin popping pills and downing elixirs. They call their doctors and schedule telemedicine appointments.

The body is not given an opportunity to do what it does best - survive. Sure, there will be some discomfort in the short-term, but that discomfort hardens individuals and makes them more resilient. Then, when something truly scary does challenge their health, the body is stronger and better practiced at recovering from it.

Similarly, the fitness industry has been plowing the path to health for decades. Spacious gyms, shiny equipment, temperature controlled training areas, perfect flooring, and ambient lighting all make the training experience…perfect! The challenge is that life is rarely perfect (unless you live in San Diego! 😎).

A major component of physical training is exposure to the elements. That can be in the form of a hot sun and humid air, or freezing rain and bitter winds. That exposure to the elements hardens humans and builds grit.

Training cannot be viewed simply as a physical endeavor, however. It also needs to be evaluated on its’ effectiveness to build a strong mind and resilient spirit. Training outdoors - year round - develops these characteristics.

Is it always pleasant training outdoors? Absolutely not! Embrace the suck.

By consistently training outdoors, an interesting thing happens. The body adapts. By training across the seasons, the body has the opportunity to acclimate over a longer period of time. Start now and slowly build up an endurance and tolerance for the elements. As the temperature drops or rises, the body and mind will be able to adapt to the changing environment. And the spirit will be stronger for it!

Now get outside and enjoy that weather.

How To Master Nose Breathing for Optimal Health and Performance

Take a moment and notice breathing. What is moving with each inhalation and exhalation? The shoulders? The chest? The belly? Is air coming in through the mouth or in through the nose? What about on the exhale, through the mouth or through the nose? Does it matter? Why?!

Simply put, mouth breathing stimulates the fight-or-flight response in the human body. It excites the sympathetic nervous system. This is great if the body needs a rush of energy and hormones to flee from a dangerous situation. It is damaging to human health, however, if the body is in a constant state of fight-or-flight. The stress it causes breaks the body down and has significant long term effects on both healthspan and longevity.

Inhaling and exhaling through the nose puts the body into the parasympathetic nervous system - the rest-and-digest state. This is where most humans need their body to be most of the time. It is a calm and relaxed state of mind and body.

Nose breathing is also highly effective during sports and physical activity. By breathing through the nose, an athlete or weekend warrior can maintain a lower heart rate, as well as lower it more quickly after intense bursts of movement. Breathing heavily through the nose will feel forced at first, but with practice, it will become second nature and ultimately lead to improved physical performance.

The next factor to focus on in healthy breathing is expanding and contracting the belly by using the muscles of the diaphragm. Many people inhale by raising the shoulders or expanding the chest. They then exhale by lowering the shoulders or collapsing the chest. This is a mistake. Watch a dog or cat breathe - either at rest or when being active - their bellies expand and contract. This is where a breath should occur in humans as well. 

Take a moment to practice this motion. Start by gently placing the hand against the bellybutton. Take a deep inhalation and press the belly into the hand. Next, exhale and feel the hand move in towards the spine. Repeat for 5-10 slow and controlled breaths.

How one breathes matters. Make an effort to be more aware of breathing techniques both at rest and at play. Focus on inhaling and exhaling through the nose, as well as expanding and contracting the belly with each inhalation and exhalation. The mind and body will be healthier for it!

How To Live a Death-Resistant Life: A Comprehensive Guide to Longevity and Vitality

Recovery, Movement, and Nutrition. That is what it takes to live a long and healthy life. This is not groundbreaking information. Most people intuitively know this to be true. The challenge arises in defining how often, how much, when, where, and what “healthy” rest, activity, and food look like. Death Resistant breaks “healthy” down into manageable segments that can be understood and applied.

Commitment to a healthy and active lifestyle is a life-long journey. Play the long game. Start thinking in terms of living to be 120 years old and what it will take to get there with a sharp mind and a functional body.

The Surprising Reason Why Isometric Training Should be a Part of Your Fitness Routine

A quick search of the keywords isometric exerciseonline returns over 22 million results. While isometric training (ISOs) has been popular lately, it is a training concept that has been around for ever. So what is it?

Muscles move in three basic ways: concentric, eccentric, and static. The concentric phase is the shortening of the muscle, like flexing the biceps muscle when showing off “The Guns.”💪🏾 The eccentric phase is the lengthening of the muscle, like extending the biceps muscle when giving some one five ✋🏽 (does anybody do that any more?). The static phase is when a muscle is flexed, but motion is paused 🛑. Contracting a muscle and holding it in that flexed, static position is isometric training.

Why is isometric training useful? It is a great way to challenge muscles when other resistance is unavailable. Trapped seated in a mind-numbing meeting? Lift the feet by flexing the legs at the knee joint and squeeze into the muscles of the thigh. Hold that position for 5-10 seconds. Release and repeat. That is isometric training!

Another great way to include ISOs is to add a pause to a movement. One of the best ways to improve strength in the pull up is to pull the chin over the bar, pause for 3-5 seconds at the top, then lower slowly under control. Or add ISOs to push ups by pausing at the top or the bottom. Make bodyweight squats more challenging by lowering slowly, then pausing with the hips just below the knees…for 30 seconds! This can also be done against a wall - the wall sit. Or when deadlifting, pause at the top to build up strength in the hands, forearms, and shoulders.

Isometrics are just one more tool that can be included in a training program to add variety. Try adding ISOs to the next movement session and see how it challenges not only the physical aspects of the workout, but the mental aspect as well. When holding that contracted position, every neuron in the brain will be firing and screaming to dump the resistance. Hold strong and work those ISOs!

Healthy Eating on a Budget: How to Prioritize Quality and Traceability in Your Food Choices

Author Michael Pollan has a great line in his book The Omnivore’s Dilemma. He encourages readers to think about their food and ask themselves the fundamental question, “What is it and where does it come from?”

Yes, it is a Cool Ranch Dorito from Walmart - and its delicious! But can it be traced back to flora and fauna? And more importantly, what is the journey of the food?

Is meat healthy? Depends. Lean cuts from a healthy, humanely raised animal can be part of a nutritious diet. Heavily marbled cuts of meat from animals force-fed grain, antibiotics, and growth hormones are bad news.

Choose organic fruits and vegetables. This limits the amount of nasty chemicals that are ingested. An apple a day keeps the doctor away - unless that apple is drenched in pesticides.

Eating quality food can be done on a limited budget. And cooking homemade meals is always less expensive than eating out. To get the best return on investment, focus on buying grass fed meat, eggs from free range chickens, dairy from grass fed animals, and always organic when buying the heavily sprayed Dirty Dozen: apples, bell peppers, celery, cherries, grapes, lettuce, nectarines, peaches, pears, potatoes, spinach, and strawberries.

Be a discerning connoisseur of food. Make an effort to understand the journey that food takes from earth, to store, to plate.

Be a healthy human!

Cure for the Common COVID: The Surprising Reason Why Exercise and Nutrition Are Key in the Battle Against COVID

Kaiser Permanente recently published research in the British Journal of Sports Medicine that studied 48,400 adults with COVID. The researchers categorized the patients into one of three groups: consistently inactive, somewhat active, and consistently active. Activity levels were measured based upon self-reported activity levels from the patients and were then compared with the U.S. physical activity guidelines of 150 minutes of moderate or 75 minutes of vigorous activity per week.

The results were eye opening.

First, only 6.4% of patients in the study were consistently active. That means over 93% were not meeting the weekly physical activity requirements on a consistent basis! That statistic is staggering on its’ own.

The news gets worse, however.

For the patients in the consistently inactive group, the health outcomes were sobering. That group had a 2.26 greater chance of hospitalization than the consistently active group. They also had a 73% greater chance of landing in the intensive care unit, and a 2.5 greater chance of death!

The study controlled for factors like age, race, previous medical conditions, obesity, and smoking. Even after those factors were taken into account, the results were still staggering.

So what does it all mean?

Simple.

Eat healthy, exercise regularly, sleep consistently.

Yes, vaccines, masks, and hand washing are all important and can be included as part of a plan for the prevention of the transmission of COVID. But those efforts will not eliminate the virus from spreading. Expecting to avoid COVID forever is a poor plan.

The better option is to live a healthy and active lifestyle. Here’s how…

Load the plate up with fresh, organic fruits and vegetables. And eat a variety of colors. Experiment with root vegetables, tropical fruits, and bitter greens. Cook meals at home more than ordering out. Opt for clean protein like wild caught salmon or grass fed beef. Enjoy high-fiber carbohydrates like roasted sweet potatoes or wild rice. And drink plenty of water - look for lemonade-color urine.

Walk everyday, regardless of the weather. Walk indoors if necessary, but get moving. Spend some time each week lifting things that are heavy and increasing the heart rate by participating in enjoyable activities like running, biking, swimming, or playing sports.

Finally, turn off the electronics and go to bed early. Stop binge watching the Squid Games or Cobra Kai. Quit scrolling through Facebook and Instagram feeds. Close the Tik Tok videos, read a book, and allow the brain to decompress. Nothing is healthier than restorative sleep that allows the body to repair.

COVID is coming for each and every person on the planet. It currently cannot be avoided. By investing in a healthy and active lifestyle, the effects from the virus will be less punishing and deadly.

Now close this post and go for a walk!

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