Official LegendaryLife.com Blog

Oddly enough, myfoodcount.com never really had a logo beyond the text play since work first began over 5 years ago on its foundations of being the internets only free and anonymous health monitoring system! Trying to convey such a complex message into simple imagery while still immersed into production mode isn’t an easy task.

What does it mean?

The goal of the brain is to survive another day but to achieve this goal, do you put the body into starvation mode or athlete mode? If you put the body in starvation mode, the body will go into hibernation and preserve energy to fight another day but not be very apt at catching or finding new energy sources. If you put the body into athlete mode, then the body goes into hyper-activity with system wide improvements but at the cost of a lot of stored energy in the hopes that you can catch or find new energy sources. Stay in starvation mode too long, the body breaks down and is no longer able to acquire new sources of energy but if it stays too long in athletes mode, costly injuries and metabolism could use all your energy stores up. This internal struggle goes on every minute, every hour and every day of our lives from the day we are born and only stops when we die.

Is there a happy medium?

Of course there is hope, but you are fighting your brains survival mechanisms all the way. You see, your subconscious brain is an extremely conservative penny pincher, as soon as you no longer need athletes mode resources then it goes right into hibernation. Your brain does NOT want you to be muscular, toned and with a low body fat because you will be the first to die should a change in the ecosphere you live within cause food to be more difficult to find. Put another way, your brain has NO CLUE that you live in a modern era where you buy your food at grocery stores and can easily acquire calorie dense foods such as junk foods at every corner. It still thinks you are out in the middle of nowhere fighting for your survival. The happy medium requires constant conscious thought and positive re-enforcement against your subconscious. Going to the gym instead of giving in and watching TV, eating healthy balanced meals when your brain CRAVES junk food and trying to acquire pleasure out of this internal fight. You don’t want to be fat but you don’t want to be an extreme athlete for any long period of time, you want to have some fat and as much muscle as you can naturally keep.

Perception is reality

So, you see that red guy to the left, he is at the extreme of survival mode, do nothing, being essentially a huge ball of fat… your subconscious goal but conscious nightmare. You don’t want to be at the other extreme with the guy to the left where he has NO fat because then you essentially put yourself into an anorexics body, you loose all muscle mass, you start having severe health problems and you are borderline dead. You want to be the green guy. You have some fat, as much muscle as naturally possible and in metabolic homeostasis.

The Bottom Line

Fighting your internal programming is the best way towards achieving the body you desire.

I found out yesterday that my childhood dentist has been diagnosed with colon cancer… I then realized something I hadn’t previously thought about. No matter how impeccable your health is in one area, it’s the one that you are ignoring that will end up getting you.

The Irony of it all

My dentist had the most amazing teeth I have ever seen in an older person, very healthy gums, white teeth and always told me to brush, brush and brush some more. He was the embodiment of fanatical oral hygiene which is a difficult thing to achieve but in hind sight, my reply to him instead of “yes, I will brush some more” should have been “when was the last time you went for a colonoscopy”? His oral hygiene prevented him from getting gum disease, tooth loss and decay but he neglected a far more easily preventable condition that didn’t have to happen.

Colonoscopy

I went for a colonoscopy about a year ago, sure I was 30 but something wasn’t right and I always prefer to be safe then sorry. I was fine btw, what was causing my condition was eating rotten wheat germ for 3 months straight… that stuff smells like feet fresh or rotten! Anyways, after the age of 50, it is recommended that you get a colonoscopy for the prevention of colon cancer every 5 years. I dare say, go every year or two. It isn’t any fun but the peace of mind is well worth whatever feelings you may have and which would make you feel more embarrassed, showing your cute butt to a doctor or telling your family you have easily preventable colon cancer? The procedure is relatively painless and if your good, they give you a lolly pop at the end of it… kinda tough to refuse huh?

What is Colon Cancer (Colorectal Cancer)?

Colon cancer is one of the easiest cancers to prevent, regular screening and a very well sourced, high fiber diet will pay you huge dividends in this area. Although it’s unknown why it starts, like many cancers, part if it is genetic and an even larger part in my opinion is… you guessed it… LIFESTYLE. We take our bodies for granted, they will have the last laugh each and every time. Smoking, diabetes, alcohol consumption, being a couch potato and obesity are all leading risk factors as well. If you have stomach pains, anal bleeding and blood in your stool get yourself checked-up ASAP. Having Crohn’s disease is also a major risk factor.

What should you do if in doubt?

If you never got yourself checked-out, symptoms or not, then stop reading this, pick up the phone and give your doctor a call for a referral. Throw away all your junk food, adopt a healthy lifestyle that includes a lot of physical activity and turn your life around. Doing nothing is the best way to die a preventable early death. Still reading this? Call the doctor!

Realizations

I guess this whole experience made me realize how much WORK is involved in keeping yourself in top shape! Evaluating your general health, creating new exercise regimens, sourcing new diets and getting enough sleep at the end of the day to repeat this all over again the next. In a way, I am lucky because I spend much of my time researching health, constantly being exposed to what happens if you DON’T follow a healthy lifestyle is a great motivation for those days when the bed seems more attractive then stack of weights.

The Bottom Line

90% of ALL cancers are preventable by proper diet and lifestyle choices. Yes, 90%!

References
http://myfoodcount.com/healthylife/whatis/colorectalcancer.html