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My grandmother, my dad’s mom, passed away in February of 2018. She had been declining for a long time; dementia, in a wheelchair, had to be put into assisted living.
She was a shell of herself when she passed away, and could no longer speak. She had a full life, had great successes, has grown children and grand children.
But at the end of her life, and the way she came to her end, she had no idea what was going on anymore. My Mother, she asked me before she passed away, “Why do you think she declined so fast?”
My answer-“Gravity”. As ridiculous as it may sound, that is why.
Gravity and health
Gravity is an omnipresent force, it is pulling us down closer to the earth every second of our lives.
Understanding this is a “First Principle” to understanding your health. I am not describing things in analogies, but as they actually are. Gravity is why the human body has muscle, it is why organisms grow UP towards the sky.
Its also why your heart must be strong enough to pump blood throughout your body, it is why your bones are as strong they are. It is why we develop arthritis as we age, and why it becomes harder to stand upright the weaker we become. Gravity is why our bodies have WEIGHT that is measurable.
Gravity is why excess weight is damaging to our skeletons and internal health. It becomes clear why a lack of exercise, muscle, and physical strength are so debilitating.
It becomes clear why hours and hours of sitting is not good for us. Not only does it dramatically lower our metabolism, but in the long term, it degrades our ability to move.
Your cells don’t count time
How do you counteract gravity then?
You build muscle and develop strength. Muscle is the Holy Grail of Health.The more muscular and stronger you are, the more resistant your body is to gravity and the effects of aging.
Aging, more often that not is a lack of muscle to resist gravity, instead of the “time” you have been on earth.
Your cells do not know time. Which means that you can be 80, while looking and feeling like 50, or 40 or even 30.
Remember that, next time you think about skipping the gym.
There’s a question I’ve gotten quite a bit recently from some of my private clients.
“Peter, what is the most important thing in life: health, wealth or relationships?”
Here’s what I think.
All of them are extremely important.
They all play a factor in quality of life and your overall happiness.
However, if I had to choose one, it would be health.
Yesterday, my brother was driving through the snowy lands of Canada when he hit black ice.
His car spun out of control on the free way, a hit the guard rail, hard.
Three air bags explode to protect him, while he prays that his car doesn’t get hit by any of the cars traveling 60/mph along the freeway.
Thankfully, no overtly serious health problems came out of it all.
But it taught me the value of health and why nothing matters more than it.
How would your life would be if you were the richest person in the world, but couldn’t get out of bed and have to commit every hour from your chemotherapy treatments.
Or if you had the greatest kids in the world, but you were too fat to play with them.
Or you died suddenly because of avoidable health issues, robbing them of years of bonding.
How would your life be if you had the greatest friend group, but could never party with them or hang out because you were always battling colds, the flu or injuries?
You don’t want to be the richest man in the graveyard.
So take care of you health.
Make it a priority now so that one day you won’t suffer the consequences.
Some people fear all potatoes because they have carbs (but carbs aren’t the enemy).
Others think that only sweet potatoes are OK because white potatoes are…well…I’m not all that sure why they fear white potatoes.
Probably because of some irrational fear that “white” foods are more likely to make you fat.
(They don’t.)
But, potatoes — of all varieties — are arguably one of the best foods you can eat (and that goes for both white and sweet varieties).
Instead of worrying about sweet vs. white, you should focus on how both can play a part in your diet.
Potatoes are loaded with vitamin A, contain antioxidants (in vitamin C and E), and — maybe best of all for your weight concerns — are a super carb.
That’s because they contain resistant starch, which means the carbs are broken down differently in your body (the name comes from the fact that the type of carbs resists the digestion process).
In other words, because of the way the resistant starch is processed (it’s not fully absorbed in your small intestine, and, instead, it’s processed and fermented by bacteria in your large intestine), you don’t digest all of the calories.
Some research suggests you might process half as many calories per gram of carb.
And white potatoes have even more resistant starch than sweet potatoes (and about a third of the sugar).
So while potatoes are carbohydrates, you might process fewer calories from them and — because they are a starch — they are likely to keep you full.
Filling, nutrient dense, and not a calorie bomb?
Hard to argue against that in any diet plan.
I eat them nearly everyday.
So should you.
The nutrition world is confusing… especially for men.
Eat carbs in the AM. No the PM is better. High fat, kept diets are better. Skip breakfast. Have a massive breakfast.
Eat 3 meals a day. Eat 1 big meal a day. Eat 6-12 smaller meals a day.
Just thinking about all of it is making me confused!
So after years of research and trial & error…
The 7 deadly sins of modern male nutrition
1. Using Diets Made for Sedentary Women
2.Taking “You Gotta Eat Big to Get Big” Too Far
3. Eating Like a Pro Bodybuilder
4. Drinking Too Much Beer
5. Thinking You Can Eat Like Your Teenaged Self Forever
6. “Cutting” When There’s Nothing Underneath to Show Off
7. Becoming Complacent
Unfortunately too many men are committing more than half of these sins on a daily basis… and it’s silently destroying their testosterone and life.
What I continually hear from guys is that they “have a body resistant to building muscle or burning fat.“
I hear them (maybe you) talk about bad genetics…
Too many guys think they have bodies that cannot build muscle or burn fat.
The truth is this: They’re just lacking the right fuel for their body to optimize their male hormonal profile.
That’s the magic of eating like a man.
I want you to imagine two people: Person A and Person B.
Person A hits the gym six times per week, only eats ‘clean’, spends hundreds of cashmonies on the newest shiny supplements, oh, and that new celebrity workout plan?
You best believe he’s done it.
Person B, on the other hand, makes it to the gym four times per week, sometimes only three. And while he generally eats healthy, he also makes room for the foods he enjoys. He goes out with friends, has a social life, and isn’t afraid to indulge here and there.
Got the image? Good.
Now, let me ask you: Who do you think is in better shape?
Person A or Person B?
If you’re like most people (me included), you probably picked Person A.
Well, you’re wrong – and so was I.
Because I was person A.
See, when I first began my fitness journey I was busting my ass – I trained hard every day. I gave up my favourite foods and only ate ‘clean’. Heck, I didn’t even go to parties or family gatherings, fearing the ‘bad’ food would derail my progress.
Despite all this hard work: I didn’t look any different than when I’d started.
Even friends and family would comment, “Erm, don’t you, like, eat super healthy and train all the time? Shouldn’t you, uh, look like you’re…you know…in shape?”
And while I’d angrily brush these comments off with, “This stuff takes time, OK!?”
Deep down I knew they were right. By all means and measures I was doing everything right – I was working insanely hard.
I was entirely dedicated. SO WHY WAS I NOT GETTING RESULTS?
Hard work, on it’s own, is not enough.
As a society we put a lot of weight on hard work – glorify it, even. We look on in awe at those who work 80 hour weeks, hustling and grinding their face off.
But here’s what nobody tells you – Just because you’re working hard, doesn’t automatically mean you’re going to succeed or be guaranteed results (just ask 17-year old Peter.)
Here’s why: We all have a limited supply of energy.
You can work your face off but if you’re working on the wrong thing(s) – you’re going to waste that limited energy and make no progress.
This is the biggest mistake I see people make when it comes to changing their body – they work hard on the WRONG things.
Now, just to be clear, and to ensure my point isn’t misconstrued – I’m not saying hard work is pointless. That would be both silly and a lie, because I’m all about dat hard work.
What I’m trying to make you understand is this:
Hard work is only effective when combined with a clear plan of action.
Let me ask you:
If you had an exact plan laid out for you, so you knew:
• What to eat, how much to eat, and when to eat;
• What exercises you should be performing and how exactly you should be performing them;
• What supplements you should be taking (and what ones are a waste of money);
• How to fit your fitness goals in with the rest of your life (and not vice versa).
Do you think you’d succeed?
Do you think you could divert all that time and energy you waste trying to figure all this stuff out on your own toward getting actual results?
If you answered yes (and I hope that was all of you, otherwise I’d be worried) then you might just finally get it
Some people fear all potatoes because they have carbs (but carbs aren’t the enemy). Others think that only sweet potatoes are OK because white potatoes are…well…I’m not all that sure why they fear white potatoes. Probably because of…
The nutrition world is confusing… especially for men. Eat carbs in the AM. No the PM is better. High fat, kept diets are better. Skip breakfast. Have a massive breakfast. Eat 3 meals a day. Eat 1 big meal a day. Eat 6-12 smaller…
I want you to imagine two people: Person A and Person B. Person A hits the gym six times per week, only eats ‘clean’, spends hundreds of cashmonies on the newest shiny supplements, oh, and that new celebrity…
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