A bigger America?

Lately I have really discovered the importance of eating well. There are many benefits from a healthy diet, and since I have taken my diet to the next level in the past 2 months, I have experience a few great benefits. I already feel more energized, I get sick less, I think more clearly, I'm stronger in the gym, and most of all I stay lean, all from a balanced, nutritious diet. There is no secret, I eat whole foods that have high nutrient values, balance fats, carbs, and proteins, and eat 5-7 small meals throughout the day.

Clearly in America today, I am the exception to the rule in a fast food driven society where people gorge themselves with Big Macs and supersized fries. Today, more Americans than ever--55%, according to the National Institutes of Health--are clinically overweight, while one in every four is obese (severely overweight). So, I really want to talk about why Americans are obese and the problem is getting worse, and what we can do to prevent a community full of potential sumo wrestlers. Here they are,

My Reasons why America is tipping the scale

1. Purpose-Have you ever asked a fat kid why he eats cake? "Because it tastes good", he says. Have you ever asked a business man why he eats at McDonalds everyday for lunch, "Because its fast, and cheap". It seems like more and more people today don't appreciate the quality of anything, including food. Americans eat because they are hungry but they make their decisions on what they eat based on taste, convenience, and money. Do you know why McDonalds is so cheap? They may low grade products in bulk and pump the food full of crap to extend its shelf life such as TBHQ and partially hydrogenated oils and studies have shown perservatives such as these not only link to obesity but also to many different diseases.

2. Time-Americans are so wrapped up in making a buck, that they see eating as a necessity and something they must do as quickly as possible. French people, who eat a diet full of carbs and saturated fats, have 1/3 of the obese population that we have and it is said to be linked to the fact that french simply take their time when eating, they spend meals as social events and talking during eating directly reduces the size of the portion that a person takes in.

3. Quality- Another post for another day, but simply American companies use crappy ingredients in their foods and Americans eat what tastes good and is cheap, which is often times low-quality foods. The other problem is the fact that Americans do not control portion sizes during eating and eat until stuffed.

4. Money- Low quality foods are cheap, businesses sell cheap food to make a profit, Americans buy cheap foods to save money, Americans eat cheap, low quality foods

5. Education- It is possible to eat healthy and spend about the same amount of money as a crappy diet but this takes research and planning as it is hard to find quality foods when you go out to eat. Americans are becoming more lazy with each generation and taking the time to read up on nutritional information and planning a nutritious diet is so much more difficult then going to Burger King and getting a Whopper with fries. With the lack of nutritional education in schools, an American must be willing to seek out this information and self teach nutrition, this just doesn't happen very often.

A year later, any smarter?

Its been a little under a year since my last post. My original idea for this blog was to seek the truth about everything, I guess, I think that is something that every college age kid sets out to do and then realizes that it sounds stupid. Do you ever look back at what you wrote and think, man I was dumb? I guess that's good, maybe it means I am a little smarter now.

I have a couple of things I have been thinking about lately and I wanted to write them down:

Love of money and the image of money is killing Americans (or at least the American Dollar)- it doesn't take a genius to see that the people in our economy are starting to feel the repercussions of errant spending habits driven by the one-upers in todays society. Its a race to see who can drive the nicest car or live in the nicest house, biggest tv's, etc. Home foreclosures in Atlanta hit an all time high a month or so back, consumer debt is at an all time high. All of these things are leading to one big event. A major downturn in the economy. Which leads me to my next question.

Our tax system is hurting the economy and its dumb- Why do you have to hire a professional just to tell you how much you owe? George Washington would be ashamed. Why don’t we go to a flat sales tax and completely eliminate the income tax that we know. A sales tax would promote savings, and savings, not spending, is what ultimately will power the economy, and bring power back to the dollar. Money that is saved earns interest and the more interest earned the more money people have. The more money people have, the more buying potential, the more potential, the more people will be able to buy things. Who will suffer? The IRS, creditors, credit card companies, and banks that loan people money that can't afford it. Do I care if these people have a job? No. Could you imagine instead of -10% in interest that is paid in credit cards, Americans make 10% interest in the markets? That’s a 20% increase in wealth. We need to tax spending to promote savings, and instead of all the money we waste to operate the IRS, use those funds to educate Americans on investing and provide investment services.

The key to life?- there are many keys

Success is not something you have its something you do- Living successfully is something that you can do everyday, success breads good things and wealth. To be successful is to do the right thing.

Life is a series of healthy balances- this equilibrium must be obtained to enjoy life to its fullest. Play must be balanced with work, your diet must be balanced, financially you must balance spending with savings. Finding that perfect equilibrium, or close to it, will make life pretty sweet. Its the people that spend everything or save everything that don't have security or fun, its the kid that eats cake for breakfast that gets fat, and its the people that work all the time that die of a heart attack.

One key to life- always trying to do the right thing.