Friday, December 6, 2013

NUTRITION: GOD, GOVERNMENT & PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY

CAUTION:  THIS WILL OFFEND.

I am not a medical doctor or dietitian; honestly, I really don’t have much use for either.  The info below is from years of research and personal experience.  So how you use the information is your responsibility, not mine.  We live in a society that always wants to blame everyone else for their mistakes.  Do your own research, and make your own choices, good or bad.  Take responsibility.

The title is a little loaded, but they all intersect.  Recently on Facebook, a young lady was banned for telling the truth about obesity, because FB called it hate speech (a little politics for you).  All she did was tell the truth of the consequences of obesity and how, as a society, we shouldn’t  ignore the epidemic.  Warning:  she was much nicer than I will be, and much more eloquent.

Let’s start with a few facts, not my opinion, facts!  As a nation, we are a bunch of lardasses!  80% of Americans are overweight, over 35% are obese.  12% of the population has heart disease, 10% has diabetes... that is just a start.  If you want to look for more data, checkout the CDC website.  The truth is we are extremely sick!  We eat and drink excessively, and then wonder why our rate of disease increases every year.  FACT:  This is all preventable!  We make the choice to be sick.  I can hear you already, whining and moaning.  Whine all you want, but it is our fault.  You will notice I do include myself in this, I have done many of the things I will be ranting about.  I realize that my choices decide my health, so don’t think I am judging or condemning.  I’m letting you know what the problem is and how to fix it.  I, too, am a work in progress.  I stumble regularly. 

More facts:  over 4 billion prescriptions were written in 2011, which is over 12 prescriptions per person!  Over $300 billion a year is spent on prescription drugs.  Over 750,000 people die each year from conventional medical mistakes, and over 100,000 of those are from prescription drugs. Sickness is big business!  No, I don’t hate the drug companies, because we decide to take these drugs.  Your doctor plays a major role in the drug game as well.  Most people blindly follow doctors’ instructions without question.  If that is you, you’re an idiot!   

GOD
How does God want us to eat?  Good question.  This could be debated for hours, so I will be brief.  And God said, Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit.  You shall have them for food. (Genesis 1:29)  This is the bottom line for me.  This was God’s original plan; this was Eden, paradise.  We, of course, screwed that up and continue to be disobedient to God.  Our defiance to his Word is why we are in the mess we are in today (not just nutritionally, but that is for another time).  Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?  If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple.  (1 Corinthians 3:16-17)  This tells me that I am suppose to take care of my body, respect and love it; not destroy it with drugs and chemicals.  If it comes in a box, it has chemicals in it!  If you eat fast food, or any restaurant food for that matter, you are filling your body with drugs and chemicals.  Do I eat at restaurants?  Occasionally, but I do it knowing there is NO nutritional value.  It is usually social and very rarely.  We were designed to eat fruits and veggies; people will always debate this, and that’s ok.  If you do eat meat, make sure it is organic and drug free.  If you think God meant for us to live in poor health, you need to reread your bible.  Disease and sickness aren’t of God; they are of man. We have created this land of fat and sick, not God!  Just because we can do it doesn’t mean we should!  We have corrupted God’s plan for us, and most people conform to it, believers and deniers alike.  We have taken a paradise, nutrient rich food source created by God and destroyed it by adding, mutating, and infecting it with everything from hormones to disease… all in the name of conformity.  Just because the FDA says it, doesn’t make it so; they have an agenda!  I close this subject with this:  Therefore I exhort you, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a sacrifice – alive, holy and pleasing to God – which is your reasonable service. Do not be conformed to this present world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may test and approve what is the will of God – what is good and well pleasing and perfect.  (Romans 12:1-2)

Government
Over the last 100 years, the government has tried to tell us how to eat.  None of it has ever been based on science or nutrition.  The food pyramid was to promote the grain and cattle industry.  Don’t get me wrong, as I’m all for supporting our farmers; but don’t lie to me about the benefits of food that can actually kill me.  Dr. Max Grerson testified before Congress in the early 1900s on the benefits of nutrition and the ability to cure cancer holistically.  The medical and pharmaceutical  community proved too powerful of an opponent for a doctor who could literally put them out of business, so his testimony was buried, and very few heard it. 

Now we have the government in NYC telling you how much soda you can buy, how much salt a business owner can use, while smoking is practically outlawed.  This is all because we are apparently too stupid to decide for ourselves.  Since I’m in the health and wellness business, it seems like I would be happy about this.  Well nothing could be further from the truth!  We don’t need the government to take care of us; that’s our responsibility!! Government controls the school menu, and the before and after school menu, so they try and tell us how to feed our kids.  Of course,  we are too stupid to take care of our kids.  Some people like this intrusion, but I do not!!  The schools try to force milk on our kids, which is one of the worst things a kid can put into his body.  People can debate this, but it is my decision for my child!  The only government law needed is for us to know everything that is in our food.  Which for some reason very few people in government and business want to happen.  If we know what’s in it, bad or good, it is our decision to eat it. I don’t want anyone to be put out of business because of restrictions; let the free market decide. I love a McDonalds fries and coke after a 20 or 30 mile run, and I wouldn’t like it if they went out of business.

Now the Affordable Care Act is the law, and this will give the government more ammo to tell us how to eat and drink.   Because if they are paying for it, they want to control it.  Now keep in mind when I say “they,” I mean us as tax payers, but that is never brought into the governments equation.  The government also wants to control our money, but that is also for another day.  The governments so-called experts don’t know dick about nutrition!!  They care about their agenda:  control!!  If you think putting calories and fat on a menu will keep the average person from buying a burger, you’re as stupid as the government believes you are.  It has nothing to do with caring about our health and wellness, it is all about controlling the sheep!!   We pour billions of dollars into research every year, research into every disease imaginable, but have we cured anything in the last 100 years?  NO!!  There are “better” drugs to keep us around longer, to buy more drugs.  No cure! The answer to all disease is nutrition!  99% of the disease is brought about by lifestyle, environment and culture.  All of which we have control over, which takes us to the next part.

 Personal Responsibility
 When I tell people that it is a decision to be sick, it really pisses them off. Unfortunately, the statement is true!!  We decide what goes into our bodies, thus we decide what happens to our bodies.  It is that simple!!!  If you want to eat a diet of fat and alcohol, then you accept the consequences!  If you are obese and eat a buffets all of the time, it isn’t my business.  BUT, I don’t want to hear you whine and complain about your health, and I sure as hell don’t want to pay for your medical bills!  We all stumble from time to time:  5, 10 maybe 15 pounds overweight, but when you get 50, 100, 200, 300 pounds overweight, you are a lazy undisciplined anchor on society!!  These are the people that have Lap band surgery, use diet pills, and any other quick fix products on the market to try and fix, what took years to create, in 30-90 days!!!!!  Here is a news flash moron:  there is no quick fix!!  It is a lifestyle change, eating the right foods, drinking plenty of water, exercising 4-6 days a week.  The real answer to all of our health problems is simple, but in the current environment of conformity and instant gratification, it is difficult.  It is also very doable!  Eat lots of fruits and veggies, drink plenty of water, get out in the sun and exercise every day,  get 6-9 hours of sleep a day, and most importantly build a strong relationship with Jesus, because the answers may be simple, but they are tough to do on our own.  Praying on a regular basis and finding contentment with what we need, not what we want, can only happen through the power of Christ.  I can do all things through him who strengthens me.  (Philippians 4:13)

Have a nice day
Choose to Succeed!
Habakkuk 3:19


Monday, March 25, 2013

VANESSA RUNS:THE SUMMIT SEEKER


VANESSA RUNS: THE SUMMIT SEEKER

The past weekend I found myself searching for a motivational read, something to get me fired up for this year’s  coming events.  I’m coming off of a injury and coming back smart and slow, which is difficult for me.  I like to just jump back in where I left off.  All things considered I have to be 100% by the end of April, so slow and smart is the way to go.  Anyway, I went back to a couple of favorites: Born to Run & The Ultramarathon Man.  I love both of these, they are motivational and informative.  For some reason they just weren’t cutting it so I did a search on my Kindle and stumbled across; The Summit Seeker: Memoirs of a Trail Running Nomad.  I down loaded a sample and just couldn’t stop there.

Vanessa Runs, that’s what she calls herself, shares her journey to ultra running with us.  What a journey and adventure it is.  Her passion for running and life is contagious!!  She is unconventional, not to be trendy or stylish, but because that’s who she is, in her approach to life and training.  It is refreshing!!  As she states, this isn’t a how to book.  She shares her stories from her first taste of running to her 100 mile adventures.  I think those of us that struggled with running at first can really relate to her and how she embraces the highs and lows of pushing her body to exhaustion and beyond. 

She also shares life’s emotional ups and downs, how she overcame and moves forward.  Vanessa doesn’t dwell on hardships dealt her, which is a nice change, she learns from them and becomes stronger for it.

This book is for everyone who runs!  Women will really relate to it.  She shatters the stereotype of the female body type of a runner.  In a lot of ways she reminds me of my wife Paula.  She has a thirst for knowledge and reads everything she can, same body type and same mentality when out there on the trails immersed in natures beauty.

As someone who has been downsizing the last few years,  her current life is very appealing!  Living in a RV and taking life one day at a time. Living on her terms, no compromise, I love that!

Finally; her struggle with who God is, my words not hers, with horrible examples in faith, she never loses her faith.  I think God has been watching over her, guiding every step and has big plans for her.  You will be hearing more from her, get to know her now.

 K2
Choose to Succeed!
Habakkuk 3:19
www.koachkarl.com

Monday, January 21, 2013

ISN’T GOD’S WORD AMAZING? NO!


Amazing-causing great surprise or wonder

Think about that definition.  The true meaning of the word Amazing.

A few weeks ago Paula and I were driving back from church, discussing the message of the day.  This is fairly normal for most, I think?  We were going over the scriptures of the message and discussing the impact of the message on our lives…….  You know, just reviewing.  Then Paula said “isn’t God’s word amazing?” I paused for a second and responded with a very strong “NO!”First of all It is rare that I disagree with my wise and wonderful wife, second it is also rare for me to pause before shooting off my opinion.  I still say NO!! 

Think about the definition of amazing.  We are talking about GOD here, all powerful, Omni present, creator of all life……that being said, why on earth would I be “amazed” that his word is wise, powerful, loving…….  Personally I am not amazed by GOD’s word, I am moved by it, I am inspired by it….   But not surprised that GOD has given us this wonderful book to guide us through our lives.  It is our owner’s manual.  He made us and he knows what’s best for us, so to say amazing isn’t really accurate.  Yes I’m being very literal.  There is nothing that GOD could do or say that would amaze me.  He can move mountains, cause the blind to see, the lame to walk and most important forgive the unforgivable.  The Bible is our Handbook or Owner’s manual to a fulfilling life.  So it’s not surprising that there is wonderful and powerful wisdom throughout. 

WHAT IS AMAZING……

What is amazing is our continued arrogance, pride, self-important mindset that refuses to take his word to heart.  That is AMAZING!!!  GOD didn’t give us the Bible to punish us or so we would miss out on “fun”, just the opposite.  GOD’s word is to insure that we have life abundant.  GOD knows that sin leads to pain for us, the consequences of our actions.  That is why he guides us through his word with love and wisdom, to avoid the painful repercussions of sin.  Let’s look at it this way.  Every item that requires assembly comes with instructions.  All of us have tried to assemble without reading the instructions or even ignoring the instructions after having read them, both resulting in failure.  It is the same thing with GOD’s word, all of the answers to a full abundant life are right there in the Bible.  All we have to do is follow his instructions.

No GOD’s word isn’t amazing, our arrogance and refusal to accept his loving guidance, that is AMAZING.

Choose to Succeed!
Habakkuk 3:19
www.koachkarl.com