Saturday, August 04, 2007

Al Qaeda's In The Cake

Hey Tony,
I find so much comfort in food. Every time I'm having a bad day or I'm angry, I turn to food and usually the kinds I should be staying away from. Since starting P90X I've been able to resist some of those bad foods on a frustrating day, but not completely. Are there any tricks besides simply human disciple, to stop this age old problem?



You are struggling with the same food issues as most Americans. Do you realize that by the year 2015, if the tread continues, 75% of U.S. citizens will be either dramatically overweight or morbidly obese. What the hell is going on? Since when was sitting on your ass and eating junk such a great life choice? The reason why you find so much comfort in food is because you don't have enough other things to give you comfort. This is probably true for 3/4 of the people in this country. The Roman time bomb is ticking and most of us are sitting around waiting for it to go off. Adventurous, purposeful, selfless people don't need food to be happy. They have projects, hobbies, charities, and 6 day a week fitness routines to keep them occupied and fulfilled.

I was back home in the great state of Rhode Island in early July and every year we have a big family ho-down. We celebrate my birthday, my dad's birthday and Independence day. This year we added a couple of engagements to the celebration. While we were all gathering in my cousin Ann's kitchen cutting up the big birthday cake my other cousin Betsy was asking Ann's brother David (who works in DC) if he had heard of any inside info regarding Al Qaeda striking on American soil again. I blurted out that there was a much greater danger of dying from the ingredients in our birthday cake than from Al Qaeda. Cousin David is a lobbyist for several health and fitness companies and added that a terrorist attack couldn't come close to killing as many people as our poor eating habits and lack of exercise. After hearing this my other cousin Mary yells, "Al Qaeda's in the cake!"

The excesses and complacency in this modern world is killing us. Too much of anything is bad for you and too little movement combined with surgery fattening food is the ultimate road side bomb. We have enough technology and conveniences to push us right over the edge. We must put our iphones, play stations and cell phones down and go for a run, read a book, plant a tree, lower our carbon footprint or take a dance class. Too much "I, me, mine" (Beatles) and not enough "Smile on your brother everybody get together and love one another right now" (name that band). When it comes to a better diet, disciple is toward the bottom of the list. Life purpose, fun hobbies and fitness gatherings with like minded people are the best way to find true authentic comfort. I like sweet yummy comfort food too, I just eat them in small amounts every once in awhile. Keep your 3 main meals and 1 snack clean and healthy. If you're going to stray plan the time of day and know what it is in advance.

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

Youngbloods

Mitch11 said...

Boy how right you are! I was at a kids fair yesterday showing off our fire engine to all the kids. It was a very busy event with hundreds of kids and adults attending. As we looked around at the crowd my fellow worker and I couldn't help but notice all the over weight people both young and old! Of course they were eating all the goodies that you could imagine. Now I am not one to judge because I love my wifes baking, and man o man is it good! She makes the best chocolate chip cookies there are. But I am learning to eat right and use moderation in my diet. I am working now on helping my family recognize the benefit in eating right and excercising regularly. Thanks Tony and MDB!

Anonymous said...

you found 'em - those sneaky b@$^&%ds. :)

Anonymous said...

I love this story! I reposted it on my 300 challenge thread for all to read with links to this blog. Hope all is awesome Tony.

Joey1459

9_Reps said...

Terry and I spent the weekend selling vintage and estate jewelry out of a booth at a show held on the fairgrounds of an upstate NY county (shameless plug alert: http://www.pinkchapeau.com) and were aghast at the sheer number of people who were so obese (and tragically kinda young too) that they were riding along on scooters, mobility devices, "hover-rounds", etc...the bizarro world influence of American ingenuity - instead of eating less and exercising more, we build personal conveyances...human litters and dollies...I had this image in my head of a Matrix style future where people plug into virtual mind-grids because they can't walk or even sit up any more...

ps - Tony when will we be able to purchase the 10 Minute Trainers series?

Anonymous said...

Tony,

Almost every morning I get up, stretch and look out my window, wondering if we New Yorkers tend to resemble the ancient Romans as far as social and behavioral values. In my humble opinion, one of the main reasons the once great Roman Empire disintegrated was excess, that's excess in every sense of the word!

You take the Roman orgy, for instance. People would eat, eat and eat some more until they exploded, and then they'd just continue eating again thereafter. That kind of excessive behavior can easily be seen in our own society today as we Americans love our all-you-can-eat buffets (gotta get your money's worth), and let us not forget Denny's ever so popular Grand Slam Breakfast, just to name a few. Hell, I once had an uncle who went into cardiac arrest after stuffing himself at a casino buffet in Atlantic City! Safe to say, he never did it again.

How do we smile on our brothers and get together in a good, productive, loving way? Lose the self-centered, egotistical me-me mentality, people! Sometimes I'm forced to listen to many of these people in public on their cell phones--man, after one minute I lose track of how many times they're saying the words "I" and "me."

Discipline and diet are fun and challenging. Doing what you wanna do comes with a price, and it won't put you in the poor house. Just be resposible, that's all!

9_Reps said...

Nick - Terry and I wanted to invite you to maybe come up for a Saturday and work out / barbeque...
-johnny

Anonymous said...

Hey Johnny,

Thanks for the invitation, man! My weekends are kinda full until later in September, but maybe we can work something out later on...give all my best to Terry, and you guys both definitely bring it with attitude!

Take care,
Nick

P.S. Oh, Tony, FYI: getting near the 200 lb mark and falling. Can't wait to do those switch-grip plyo pullups:)) Remember, Rome wasn't built in a day:)

9_Reps said...

Finally got an MDB account...screen name is 9Reps...actually WOWY'ed last 3 days...see you guys in there...

Nick - consider that a standing invite for a day in the country if you find time pal...ps - gratz on the 200 lb milestone...

Tony - we cut out red meat, pork (yes, bacon hehe) and processed foods, really radically changed the way we grocery shop and eat...and without really changing the frequency or intensity of day-to-day workouts all that much, I've lost like 12 pounds since NY camp ended...along with a sort of intensified / amplified sense of self-awareness that's kinda hard to describe...everything from the way my arms hang, to balance, Kenpo techniques, memory...quite wonderful actually...thanks for berating me in the chow line that day...I definitely needed to hear that...

-johnny

Anonymous said...

Johnny,

Rock On Brotha! Man! I love it when I here that you've made the turn. 12 Pounds! That's awesome! I'm so proud of you and Terry. These changes are huge for you guys. I was at an event this weekend and I saw so many people struggling with their weight. You two are now in the role of ambassadors for this lifestyle. It's never a good idea to jam it down friends throats, but if people in your life see the changes in you, why not share your experience. Hope you kids can hook up with my man Nick for a workout and a VEGGIE barbeque.

Anonymous said...

Hi there - Just checking in. I am getting myself ready to start p90x in Sept. Have been wowying for a few months now and love how much stronger I feel. The past several days I have been doing p90 3-4 Sculpt(every other day) and getting out on my road bike.

I am excited but a little nervous for p90x.

Los Gatos Girl said...

Dave Clark Five: Everybody Get Together.

And you're right....you can look at the generations and see more self-absorb'tion increasing, less caring, less thinking outside of the individual.

It will end in one of two ways.....Rome with Nero fiddling or we get someone else to change the tide like Kennedy did.

Anonymous said...

Wow that kind of makes my sweet tooth seem as bad as it is. Thanks Tony for motivating me again while my chips were down.