No Shit ??

In Harvard’s weekly health newsletter this week the title read:

“Mediterranean diet decreases risk of Type 2 diabetes by 31%”

Kevin brain as soon as I read the Title :  “No shit”

Ofcourse – you have to understand my mindset at the time…

I am still reeling from the Xbox blog where I alluded to the brokenness of the western diet….  I mean, dang – almost any choice is better than what we’re doing now in this country ……

…… “Sir, would like X large fries and soda for a dollar more?”  

………..we sux.

Back to Harvard.  The study essentially put the X group on a Med diet, imposed an exercise program and offered professional weight loss counseling to the subjects. They found that the X group lost weight and had a 31% decrease in T2D.

Ya Think ?? …………… what a shocker.  

I shared this silly article with my friend Ms D. at lunch.  Ms. D and I have lunch about every week as part of egg washing and packaging…… it’s just part of our week.

Lunch is super simple - she brings her stuff and I cook mine after chores.

This week we are sitting across from each other as usual chatting about something ........

and then it occurs to me that Ms D. is a Mediterranean eater …………….. and then this blog crystalized in my head.   

Ms. D’s little pyrex container is filled with Mediterranean stuff  - cheese, nuts, veg, fruit etc.  ……… while I across from her look like a Neanderthal………. a Ribeye Steak and half dozen scrambled eggs.

We could not be more different. Yet – we are alike in many ways.

Our physique / bodies are tone for our age group.

Ms.D. Is a petite Italian lady in her early 60s and her figure rivals most women half her age. She is fit, active and possesses a fiercely competitive spirit.  She eats Med.  

I’m an active 59-year-old, run almost daily, and weight 172 pounds.  My eating is probably more carnivore / keto like. I too am competitive – more with self than others……but still ranking #8 for my age group in my last half marathon of 700 runners.

(yeah – that’s a brag)  

So....  Two humans, eating totally differently, but sharing similar health outcomes. Hmmm.

[back to the lunch table] ……..I am halfway listening to Ms. D talk at lunch ……she is rattling on about something her daughter said. –

Kate, her daughter is in a master program studying nutrition and diet………… Ms. D is going on and on ………………

While I sit there looking at what she is eating…. And what I am eating …… and thinking about this article you find yourself reading.

…… Ms. D continues to ramble………. “ I told Kate, I think I am in Ketosis “

Daughter Kate: “Mom – you are not in ketosis. I know what you are eating.”

Ms. D.:  “ No, I think I am, I have lost x pounds”

Daughter Kate again:

“No mom, you are not – “What you are experiencing is the result of a balanced, healthy diet combined with exercise…. isn’t that amazing ??”  

Thank You Kate.

What’s the point?    - It doesn’t matter what your diet choice is really. There is a lot of shit out there --- vegan, veg, keto, paleo, carnivore- o  … what ever……..

Get the big stuff right (read X box if you have not). Pick a fueling system, see if you like it, are you getting some results ?  then commit to it like a crazy person.  Execute violently with ruthless commitment. Control your brain. Stay in charge of your path.   

Eating and fueling your body….. a little more about that. We know Ms. D is Mediterranean.

Me ? – I could not tell you exactly what I am doing – It’s a blend of Carnivore and keto likely. I am ruthless on carbs and sugar and alcohol - but do not deprive myself of all starches and of course Chocolate Ice cream with friends at Cruze the farm Ice cream shop.

I tend to experiment - Does that make me feel good or bad? does that fuel me? does that give me staying power?

“ lets try adding a piece of organic toast with organic blue berry jam with your pile of scrambled eggs.”  – yes, no, maybe so. Make A decision …. Do not look back.    

OK Kevin  - what’s the moral of this little story ??  

I think there are two nuggets here – 

First, We humans are different. We do share biology, but what works for one, may not work for another. We have to engage ourselves and find the path that works for us.

Second - I don’t think there are any silver bullets in this life. I think you just have pick something and stick with it. Don’t be swayed off course by the next squirrel.

Calvin Coolidge, the 30^th President of the United States once said:

"Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence.

Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent".

Be the epitome of persistence…….be better every day.