In the quest for health, fitness and the perfect body, too many people are irrationally afraid to enjoy the great things that can come from eating, drinking and living life.  Life’s way too short to live this way.

There’s never been a time where there’s been more diet and exercise books and experts giving advice to the masses over the airwaves.  And yet there have never been more people who know less about how to lead a healthy lifestyle.

You’ve all heard of Attention Deficit Disorder.  We now have Diet Attention Deficit Disorder, a by-product of the diet-of-the-week mentality that’s been adopted by the media and passed on to members of the general public. Atkins, South Beach Diet, Mediterranean, Low-Fat, No-Fat, No-Meat, and so it goes. 

Diet de jour is the way too many people live their lives.

As a result of this approach to diet people have forgotten how to eat.  People are afraid of foods – healthy foods - that have been part of our culture’s daily diet for generations.  I’ve written it before, but it bears repeating.  Staples that have sustained generations, such as bread, pasta, rice and other forms of carbs, have been demonized to the point where people are afraid to eat this vital form of nutrition.  Other diets have preached that meat and protein is bad.  The anti-fat, anti-carb, anti-protein schools of thought have all been exposed as being off base.

Balance in diet is, and always has been, the key to weight management and ultimately to living a healthy - and happy - life.

To make matters worse appearance has been confused with capability and fitness.  Image-makers in the movie, fashion and fitness industries – with an assist from the cosmetic surgery apparatus - have created an unrealistic vision of what the human body looks like, should look like.  Women in particular have been hammered with the message that “thinner is better” and also “younger looking is better.”   Cosmetic surgery allows people to look better, in some subjective way, but does nothing to materially improve a person’s life or physical well-being.

The obsession to lose 5 or 10 pounds drives some people to do absurd things.  Skip meals, eat only salad, exercise 6 or 7 days per week.  I’m amazed that so many people do so many unhealthy things and think that they are leading a healthy lifestyle.

People have told me ridiculous stories about how they order food in restaurants, people who should know better.  I’ve seen people do silly things like tell the waiter to make sure there are no croutons in their salad.  Friends have told me that olive oil is fattening and as a result they won’t eat it or use it when they cook.  Wealthy, educated successful people.

“Life is too short to worry about love handles,” is my response to people who approach me with their concerns over losing 5 pounds.  Guys obsessed with their stomachs and women worried about their butts – folks who are otherwise fit and healthy – need to lighten up…pun intended. 

There are the people who go to some of the finest restaurants in the world and stress over it. And don’t enjoy the finest food and drink available anywhere because they think a steak or a bowl of pasta is evil and will derail their efforts to “eat healthy.”  Because they are worried about their love handles or perceived saddlebags.

Eat healthy, exercise regularly and you’ll die anyway.  So experience life.  Don’t obsess over food and exercise.  Life’s too short.

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written by Brittni, January 13, 2008

Love this, and pretty much a lot of things you write. You really get down to the raw truth of why people are so overweight these days-because they're so fixated upon it.
And, to the below poster, he's not referring to people who diet and exercise to better their bodies, he's talking about people who diet and exercise to the point where it becomes neurotic and detrimental to their mental well-being. And sometimes I ask for saladds without crutons and with light oil too.

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written by A Dieter, October 02, 2007

Easy for you to say, no? Have you had a weight problem? Have you been addicted to food? Would you even have a job if peopled did stress about their love handles?

You make some good points but don't knock those of us interested in diet and exercise to better ourselves and our bodies. I routinely ask for no croûtons because I'd rather not have the refined flour and oil added to them.

Do I enjoy food, yes. Do I exercise? yes Do I worry about my love handles? yes. And guess what I wouldn't be reading this if I wasn't. I know what I did to my body and now I'm trying to fix it.