Newton was Wrong

Newton’s first law: Every object continues in its state of rest, or of uniform motion in a straight line, unless compelled to change that state by external forces acted upon it.

That may look like a bold statement from a personal trainer in the 21^st century, and maybe Newton meant to have excluded humans from that statement. All things considering, I suggest a modification applicable to humans:

Karin’s first law: Every human continues in its state of rest, unless compelled to change that state by internal forces acted upon him/her.

As a personal trainer, people come to me to get guidance for exercise after they have already made up their minds that they want to exercise. Picking up that phone and crossing the threshold to my studio are often the biggest steps a person will make. All following steps are small in comparison.

We in the fitness industry are often lamenting that we are not reaching out enough to the sedentary population. The results of lack of exercise and bad eating habits are in plain sight. I do not know of anybody who is not aware that this is detrimental to your health.

So: what can we do?

Maybe we should consider what we should not do: stigmatize those whose appearance makes it obvious that they have made some unfortunate choices.  Let’s declare a peace treaty on the ‘War on Obesity’ because they are not our enemies.

There is no external force that can make somebody do anything. Only internal motivation can accomplish that. And such internal motivation can grow much easier on a soil of understanding and compassion.

Of Carbs and Men

As of Sunday, June 10, 2012 I am the proud owner of the title ‘Fitness Nutrition Specialist’ which is a certification through NASM (National Academy of Sports Medicine). As such, I can voice my opinion on food choices and vitamins and supplements with greater depth of knowledge than I could before.  I have studied for several months, biting my way through a nutrition textbook of prodigious dimensions while having a few reminders of my organic chemistry class in school.

While the science of nutrition over the years has discovered just enormous amounts of knowledge of how the body works, there is still a lot that is not known yet.

Particularly when it comes to fruits and vegetables, there is simply more to any variety than is yet discovered. We know about fiber, the carbohydrates and the vitamins and minerals but there is a whole additional world called ‘phytochemicals’ which have the following definition according to Wikipedia:

Phytochemicals, chemical compounds that occur naturally in plants (phyto means "plant" in Greek), are responsible for color and organoleptic properties, such as the deep purple of blueberries and smell of garlic. The term is generally used to refer to those chemicals that may have biological significance but are not established as essential nutrients.  Scientists estimate that there may be as many as 10,000 different phytochemicals having the potential to affect diseases such as cancer, stroke or metabolic syndrome. Although certain phytochemicals are available as dietary supplements, some scientists speculate that potential health benefits of phytochemicals may best derive from consumption of whole foods.

So: an apple a day keeps the doctor away after all.