The following article was written by RDG Principal Michael Trubiano.
I was on a flight recently and pulled out an exercise mag that my health nut biz partner gave me to read in my spare time. He’s as fit a person as I know and his example has lead me to increase my workouts and particularly my cardio. I figured the holiday season was a good time to re-assess and re-calibrate my fitness routine.
Now I have always believe cardio is the key to weight control. Lo and behold the article I read said current studies prove otherwise… “doing conventional long cardio overtaxes your body and increases the production of the stress hormone “cortisol”, which causes you to gain belly fat. It went on to say “Studies have also found that doing long frequent cardio sessions break down your lean muscles and increase the production of free radicals. Free radicals are nasty little molecules that damage cells in your body and cause chronic inflammation that accelerates aging and lead to serious diseases.”
So all the extra miles and work on the cardio machine that I thought was helping make me slim, trim and in shape, is actually increasing my belly fat and making me look older! Thanks Rob.
Not feeling all that good about this revelation, I put down the magazine and picked up the day’s newspaper. The headline in the Life section ‘Organic vs Conventional’ grabbed my attention since my wife and daughter decided a couple years ago to switch almost entirely to an organic diet, which by the way has nearly doubled my food bill!
Thinking I was going to get confirmation that paying that additional cost was leading to better health I was surprised and a little depressed to read; “Stanford University study reveals there isn’t much difference between organic and conventional foods”. It went on to say they “did not find strong evidence that organic foods are more nutritious or carry fewer health risks than conventional alternatives’ and “After analyzing the data, the researchers found little significant difference in health benefits between organic and conventional foods”.
So all of that extra money isn’t really resulting in a healthier body??
Now I know there are plenty of studies and articles that will contradict the two I read on the plane and I will continue to run and exercise as well as watch what I eat. But it made me stop, and really take a look at what I was doing and if it was the best way to get me to where I want to go. Maybe instead of a long run some weight lifting would be better? Or maybe I should be doing some of both? Variety, after all, is supposed to be the spice of life!
Whether it’s diet, exercise, our day to day business practices, or even our personal relationships ……we need to continuously challenge the rational and effectiveness of the strategies that we are deploying to get the results we want. Sometimes, to be better, challenging the status quo is just what is needed. There just might be a better way!
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