People claim all the time that their physique is not their fault. Sometimes they are correct. If you have an ablated thyroid, or a tapeworm, then you are definitely not to blame for the way you look. At the same time, entire industries rake in money hand over fist trying to sell you on a magically transformed body. Everywhere you look, people are trying to sell you on a better body. It's easy to understand. The better you look the better your options. As the play "Wicked" taught us: "It's not aptitude, it's how you're viewed." Consequently in our material world, people want to look better. They turn to fad diets, some of which are supremely dangerous or to exercise regimens despite the risks posed by those and ultimately miss the purpose of both of those, which is to be healthy. Far too many people do this to get dates or to get money, and it's not good for those who don't get chosen until they understand that the point of all the nutritional suggestions and PE classes was not to make everyone attractive but to help us learn how to live better lives because we're healthier than we would be without making those changes.
Like it or not, it begins with diet. You are what you put into yourself. It is impossible to make a good cake with spoiled ingredients, and so unless you put good foods into yourself, you probably won't look or feel good. Lately, however, some outlandish claims appeared on the internet. YouTube keeps featuring a 51 minute long advertisement that starts with the premise that a tomato is bad for you. Compared to what? Or you might notice all the supplements like super beets or whatever. These are not new, but some old ones are gone. Remember Tahitian Noni? Or pomegranate? "The Doctors" is pushing Elderberries, but you can't eat elderberries raw, because raw elderberries are bad for you. So you have to buy their pricey supplement. Seems like most of these diets consist of nothing more than ways to separate fools from their money. A few years back, one of my students, widely devoted to veganism, preached that veganism would cure all my ills. I discovered that Oreos are vegan and told her that if her premise held, I could just eat oreos and lose weight. Of course she had nothing to say. As a biochemist, I know a little about cells and health, but I am no professional. I can say that there are some basic principles that will help. Drink more water and less sugary beverages. Cut foods out that are likely to be contaminated with fungus or byproducts. Reduce your consumption of "bad" foods as much as you can and replace them with as many healthy options as you can manage. You're not probably going to hire a chef even if you can afford one, and you're probably want to indulge, so don't think that diet alone can get you there. There is no magic pill or shake or supplement or diet that will work for everything.
Exercise is a two edged sword, and it's a law of diminishing returns. You will notice that the more you do an exercise, the less it helps you. As you become accustomed to running or weights, you must continually raise the bar (pun intended) and increase the resistance or it stops helping you get better, and it might not be enough for you to get fit. You also tend to eat more when you exercise, because you burn more calories. Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps reported the year he won like six gold medals that he ate 6000 kcal per day. If you ate that, you'd pork out like a blimp. So, if you quit working out but keep eating, you'll get fat, and that's what happens to many people when they get older and their chest becomes their drawers. You can also exercise TOO much. People get hurt all the time. I had a student a few years back who damaged her hemorrhoids at the age of 27 lifting weights. If you exercise too much or without a spotter or incorrectly, you may damage something rather than improve it. Nobody seems to know what exercise is "best" but everyone has an opinion on what exercise is better. You may also notice people selling regimens like boot camps of CrossFit or P90x or expensive machines. I can tell you that the Treadclimber from Nordictrack probably works, not because I own one, but because I hike almost every weekend, which is the equivalent of walking an incline, and although I didn't lose weight, I sure lost waist. However, you don't need to buy gym memberships or fancy machines or a workout program or a trainer. You do need to get up and start walking.
Genetics ultimately dictate some limits. Everyone has different genetic makeup. Taller people can gain weight and show it less than shorter people. Different cultures are adapted to metabolize different foods. However, in our "diverse" world, we have a new admixture of genetic makeup but a uniform distribution of food options. Last December in Germany, after observing that the people eat a LOT of bread and chocolate, the Germans told me they keep from getting fat by "walking a lot". Well, isn't that special. I walk about 100 miles per week, and they look skinnier than I do. A friend of mine drinks a fifth of scotch every day and doesn't gain a pound. We are all slightly different, which is why no diet or exercise regimen works for everyone. In fact, none of them may EVER work for you. If you want to know what you're going to look like, look at pictures of your ancestors. Chances are daughters turn out like their mothers and sons turn out like their fathers. You can fight it, but the best advice I can give you is to work on getting the best body that your genetics make possible. You probably know someone who eats like a garbage disposal and looks like they are very fit. Skinny does not mean healthy or the starving people in other countries would be healthy. Of course, America is one of the few nations where poor people are fat, but some people don't have the genetic disposition to be top models. We all vary a little bit from perfect at least, so stop trying to force your body to some arbitrary standard. The purpose of life is to enjoy your life, and stressing out because you don't comport to someone else's standard when they have different circumstances will countermand your efforts to be healthy because stress will hurt your health.
You're better off healthy. So, if you can find a diet or exercise regimen that works for you, you ought to. Be active. The Kashi cereal company years ago featured a guy in his early 50s who said that he never ran until he was 50 and that getting healthy was a series of small steps, as many as you want. That is a great pun, because it's true. You don't need a guru or a life coach or an advertisement or even this article to tell you what you ought to eat. You know what you ought to eat. If you want to know my advice, I'll tell you, but it's very simple. The best things for you are things found on the periphery of the grocer; those center aisles contain processed foods high in fat, salt and sugar. It's not done to hurt you. It's done because salt, fat and sugar added keep things from spoiling, so they last longer on a shelf. Ultimately, they'll only help you last longer on a shelf, but since that's not where any of us ought to live, unless you want to live there, eat foods that are things you can actually find outside in nature. And then get out in nature. go for a walk or a ride or a run or whatever, but just get out. Enjoy your life. Don't let your genetic looks dictate whether or not you live well and live happily. Be you; do what you do; and, if you really want to, drink Dr. Pepper (that was their slogan once). All this has been made for the benefit of man, that they might have life and have it MORE ABUNDANTLY.
