Monday, October 31, 2016

THE POWER OF ADDICTION

 When one thinks of a drug addict one tends to assume some coked up smack head, alcoholic, smoker or gambler. This in most cases would be the correct association as it always a involves a negative unhealthy practice. On another level we have sugar addicts, computer games addicts, work-aholics, diet addicts and even sex addicts ... hell, I even had a client (who shall remain nameless) who was addicted to Cornish pasties in the UK and put on 10 kilos!
 But are there any addictions that are healthy? I believe there are, though many people will use an accusatory tone to denigrate that behaviour, the most obvious being exercise. It beggars belief how many times I will hear someone say 'oh they are addicted to exercise' or 'she's a health nut' or 'he's  obsessed about health and fitness'. It would be amusing if it wasn't so sad. Every time I hear it I can guarantee the person saying it is either overweight, unhealthy, drinks too much, smokes or is always ill. They of course claim that they are none of these things, denial being the standard repost.
Basically if you are fit, strong and healthy and eat well balanced nutritious food you are an obsessive addict. I sometimes wonder what people think healthy people do. Run around all day with dumbbells in one hand and a broccoli floret in the other, chanting mantras and checking their Fitbits! What they do is consistent exercise 3 to 4 times per week and eat 3 well balanced nutritious tasty meals a day that are low on carbs and sugars and high in protein and vegetables. How difficult or obsessive is that? Its just routine like cleaning your teeth, it's a habit, it takes no more time than anything else, its not obsessive in fact its very simple, you just have to make a start.
  
  I have detected over the years another rather strange psychology that has developed which is much more devious and potentially harmful. When someone has a check up, whom I think has potential health issues, they nearly always say, 'I passed with flying colours'...'Nothing wrong with me'... 'The doctor was very impressed with my blood tests'... 'He said I have the heart of a twenty year old'... 'She was amazed at how strong I was'...'Apparently I am only a little overweight'.... 'They agreed with me that I have a very healthy diet' ... and on and on they drone.
I of course look at them and think, then why are you fat, start wheezing if you walk faster than 4 kilometres an hour, always have a cold, have bad skin, look pale, have dead eyes or consume copious amounts of medicines? Let me explain something, 'passing any health test with flying colours' is meaningless bollocks.

          The reason is not the inadequacy of the test but the inadequacy of your response.

You only interpret it how you want to hear it. Fit and healthy people don't do this, they will break the test down into components looking for areas of weakness or potentially harmful trends. They will look to see what they can do either in diet or training to improve the situation. They are not interested in the good stuff, they already now that, they only focus on the things that can be improved. Unhealthy people do the opposite. It's what got them into this mess in the first place, denial again. Now we all do it to some extent, nobody wants to hear bad news about their health, I didn't when I was told about my restricted bladder but my response was detailed analysis, second opinions and a thorough understanding of what was involved now and in the future. It wasn't 'Oh the specialist said its only a slight problem but drink lots of water and you'll be fine because you have the heart of a Wildebeest.'
  In other words being addicted to health is a very positive, vitally important, if not the most important thing to be. Please don't confuse this analytical way of thinking of being negative. Positive thinking will not cure your problem if you deny you've got one. As I have said on countless occasions when discussing health with the doubters ... 'In the end everyone comes round to my way of thinking' because unless you have a death wish, or illness wish, or you desire to be a frail old granny at 65, then you will eventually realise that health freaks weren't freaks at all ... it was you who was the idiot.
 Time to get with the program folks. That doesn't mean sign up to a gym or Boot camp and then don't go, it doesn't mean, cut out bread, jog a bit but still drink too much wine and it certainly doesn't mean go to a health camp or get a personal trainer and then eat the same food you always did believing that the exercise will burn it off. It doesn't and it never will.
A little bit of education can go a long way, its not rocket science. A very successful personal trainer once said about clients who pay him a £1000 an hour. 'They don't need me they only need to do the right exercise 3 to 4 times a week and eat broccoli and chicken and they'll be fine'. Okay he was deliberately over simplifying but you get the point. You must surely know by now what habits you have that are unhealthy, just stop telling yourself okay when you are not. Start the process of fixing this today. Begin with meaningful changes, maybe only small adjustments at first but ones you know to be right, be it food or exercise. Educate yourself a bit, not with the latest celebrity diet but with real tangible adjustments. It doesn't mean a life of not having naughty things now and again just try 80/20. Eat healthy and exercise 80% of the time and cheat 20%... just don't do it the other way around.
 Finally let me make one more point. The flipside to my argument about denial is this. When you are ill or injured, normally fit and healthy do then look to the positive and how to cure themselves quickly whereas the unhealthy lot wallow in a sea of self pity about their predicament. Suddenly they are now an invalid, its an overreaction the other way and at the wrong time. This is when you need to step up and challenge the illness or recovery. It doesn't mean being stupid but it does mean that you have to eat even better and try and exercise a little very day. Often people just carry on with their crap ways of slothful choices. Find out what foods will help your recovery and what exercises you can do to increase you fitness and  physical improvement. The human body is immensely resourceful. I have trained so many people with illnesses, physical disabilities or limited capability and it is incredible, with the right amount of guidance and encouragement, what they can do and how fast they can improve.
 This of course is relevant to me now. I have been told to do nothing for 4 weeks and with no guidance on what to eat. Does anyone think for one moment that I am going to accept that, of course not. I will challenge it, fully researching what foods will aid recovery, asking advice, looking for examples of the right type of exercise for someone in my predicament. You have to know your own body and look for ways that can help you, you don't just sit there and do nothing. Listen to your body, if you think you can walk or run, do it, obviously I am not going to strain myself but I will look to recover as fast and as healthily as possible. I just know that my fit and healthy colleagues will agree 100% and I also know that the unfit overweight lot will think the opposite saying 'Ooh he should be careful he's very silly'. There is a message here folks; this is the time for the positive outlook and not when you have a  health check and believe everything is fine when it obviously isn't.
  I am now addicted to a fast, sensible, healthy and effective recovery and I will achieve that goal. Guess I am just a junkie, I'll be mainlining green drinks next ... oh shit I already do.
 Catch you all later.

 

1 comment:

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