MOVE: September 26, 2014

It's Not Reserved for The 1%

Spoiler summary: If putting the odds in your favor is as straight forward as it seems, why is it so rare?

I walked up behind a couple of guys who were walking down a corridor talking this morning and couldn't help but overhear the conversation.  One said to the other, "well, don't lose too much" showing obvious concern for his coworker and friend......It was at that moment that I recognized the (now far thinner) face of the second and I said "you're doing great - keep it up" and the face smiled back at me.... We started talking about something we have had many conversations about before.  The only difference was, this time, he was talking from the perspective of a guy who had lost a bunch of weight instead of from the perspective of a guy who wanted to.  We chatted a little bit longer and he told me he was getting ready to start putting some time in at the gym in an effort to build on top of his now far leaner and more efficient frame......and then he said some incredibly powerful words....."I haven't been able to get consistent, but I know I need to do it.  It was a big deal for me to commit to get the weight off, but I just haven't been able to make that same commitment and put the time into exercise that I need to.  I know I'll do it when I'm ready".

There it was, the key phrase "I know I'll do it when I'm ready".  Seems like a simple enough phrase, but there's nothing simple about it.  When you know you need to make a change but you're not sure how to (or in some cases if you can) it takes a ton of internal dialog to get there, it takes courage to speak the truthful message "I know I can, but I probably won't.....until it's important enough....and then I will".  It'd probably be easier to simply say "I can't" or "since I can get away without it for a while I won't" or get stuck talking about "should", but not this guy - he had already looked within and realized the change was needed, he already believed that it was possible, and he knew the effort would be worth it in the long run.....but he also knew he hadn't found the internal urgency yet; which, ironically, is precisely why in the long run he has a better chance than most of succeeding.

Making a health change is not complex:  Another big study, this one published only a few days ago for example, demonstrated that in more than 20,000 men over 12 years those who maintained the healthiest lifestyle had an 86% lower likelihood of having a heart attack than those who had the least healthy lifestyle.  The researchers concluded that up to 80% of heart attacks could be prevented by bringing 5 key health-areas in line.  

Not surprisingly, the simple (but certainly not effortless) formula sounded remarkably familiar to us:

MOVE: The successful men did greater than or equal to 40 minutes of cycling or walking per day AND dedicated more than 1 hour exercising per week.

FUEL:  The most successful men were in the top 20% in regards to dietary patterns.

RECOVER: The healthiest men gave their bodies the best chance to recover from the daily grind by not smoking and by consuming alcohol only moderately.

The result? They had low central adiposity (i.e. minimal belly fat), they maintained a healthy body weight and, in other words, their health, function and quality of life was better set up to ENDURE.....nearly 86% better from a heart disease perspective.

MOVE + FUEL + RECOVER greatly improves the odds of ENDURE.

So why then was this great outcome only seen in 1% of the 20,000 men?  Meaning 99% didn't.  Were they just ahead of their time? Were they the super motivated few?

Equally curious, why did 8% of the men in the study skip all of the health actions on a regular basis?

Was it because they didn't know?  Was it because they didn't care? Was it because they weren't ready to put in the effort? Was it all of these to some degree?  Maybe.  

We've learned a TON since 1997 when these guys were included in the study.....and if they didn't know, is it likely that they cared?  Probably not. However within 10 years evidence on things like exercise & nutrition had begun to mount, so surely it wasn't a completely foreign concept....so why then?

Some would surely cite a lack of time, some might say lack of equipment or access and others might even say social pressure against it in their network of friends or family - to some degree all would likely be right....yet 1% did it anyway.  1% of these men found a way to overcome the barriers and CONNECT their actions to the evidence and therefore, the dots together.

Health is not reserved for the 1%, it's reserved for the individuals, groups and communities who are willing to make a consistent effort over time.

It's not complex, but it does take effort - and it starts whenever you're ready.

Now go do something extraordinary,

Mike Eisenhart, PT

Managing Partner, Pro-Activity