Fit for the New Year

        As I lumbered out of the library the other day with my 10-pound book called, Capital in the Twenty-First Century (it will be a New Year’s miracle if I finish this one), I noticed a much smaller, more appealing book called, Eat Move Sleep, by Tom Rath. 

       I quickly grabbed it and told the librarian I would promptly return it in three weeks.  She was quite agreeable to the arrangement, and well, I’ve never met a librarian who wasn’t.

      In about an hour I had read a third of the book, making me realize how easy it is to write a bestseller these days.  Simply refer to some popular health studies, include some anecdotes about your own life, add some tips for readers to follow, and most of all, keep all chapters under five pages in length.  Voilà, you’ve got yourself a million-dollar book.

       I particularly enjoyed this review posted by a reader on Amazon: “Read the title, and you don't need to read the book. Trite, repetitive, and incredibly simplistic, Rath's new book made me want to sit on the couch and stuff my face with Oreos.”

      With that so eloquently said, I still say it’s a good book.  There’s something to be said for simplicity and brevity, particularly when it comes to making changes to one’s lifestyle.  The reminders are all good: eat your fruits and vegetables, exercise and move around regularly, and sleep well.  Yes, almost anyone could have written it, but we didn't.  Personally, I prefer writing low-profit blogs. 

       There were a few points in particular that reminded me of how I needed to change my own lifestyle.  For one, I sit too much.  Whether it’s at work, which largely involves sitting in front of a computer, or at home, where I’m either sitting at the table or on a couch (maybe even occasionally watching TV), I sit a lot for most of my day. 
       Inactivity has always been a bad thing, but sitting has actually been shown to be in itself detrimental to your health. According to a study published a few years ago, those who have desk jobs end up shaving four years off their lives on average.  Cancer rates are actually higher for those who sit most of their lives.  Sitting is the new smoking.

       And of course sitting hunched over a keyboard is terrible for one’s back.  About five years ago I suffered my first serious back problems, largely due to my work posture.  The issue resurfaces every few months, reminding me that I haven’t done enough exercise or stretching throughout the week.

A cool pedometer does wonders for your health

      I’m not yet tempted to get a treadmill at work with a laptop mounted to the front, as the author did, but I did buy a pedometer the other day.  Got one for my wife and daughter as well.  Really cool ones that have names like “Wave” and “Reef” that link to our phones and blink red lights.  I’m a sucker for technology, but it’s a great way to motivate us to be more active every day.

      As far as food choices go, the author also reminded me how much sugar I consume.  Given that I’ve just spent December eating three to four chocolates per day (maybe a couple more each night), I’ve committed, like my seven-year-old daughter, to reduce the amount of sugar I eat in 2015.

      Not only sugar added to my coffee, but also sugar in other foods like bread, cake, rice, and all the other wonderful white foods we consume every day.  The foods that are full of colour and generally keep you from going for seconds are the foods you really need to eat more of.

      And while I’m not overweight or out of shape, it doesn’t mean that my body isn’t deteriorating due to diet.  Once you pass that magical threshold of age 29,  you’ve got to do everything you can to stop that thing from falling apart.

     The author’s final point is in regard to sleep.  As in, get more of it.  I’ve heard that you need at minimum eight hours to function normally, but nine is even better.  To most of us this may sound unachievable, but to me it sounds delightful.

      That’s Eat Move Sleep in a nutshell.  Save yourself $15 and ask a kind librarian to borrow it. 
      As for the Capital book, it’s the perfect weight for a light toning cardio workout (as in, I’m still in the introduction).