Smoking is safe!!!
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So is drinking alcohol!
So is junk-food!
And drugs, and late-nights, and stress, and wheat, and being sedentary, and boot-camps!!!!!! (I could go on like this for a long time.)
Matter of fact, anything that you’re told not to do, is safe! (And by “safe” I mean you should go out and do it right now because it might even be beneficial to you – DISCLAIMER: I take NO responsibility if you actually go out and do anything! Note the sarcastic tone.)
Every single day I will come across an article where someone suggests some health-giving technique or food or what-not and it makes me take a step back and think. Or I’ll read something on Facebook or Twitter with the same stuff. Or I’ll even get my own clients say they’ve heard about some miraculous new way of doing things. I’ll even admit that in the past I’ve probably been guilty of this too – a lot of the things I suggest go against the grain and conventional wisdom and I’m sure I’ve made a few people take a step back and think, too.
What I’m saying in a nutshell here is, don’t believe me. In fact, don’t believe anything you read or hear in the news. Anyone that claims to have the definitive answers to health and fitness or says to you “THIS is the way, come follow me” is probably standing to profit from what they are saying. Anyone who is dogmatic in their beliefs and ideologies should probably be avoided.
So, if you’re not going to believe me, who do I suggest you believe? Believe yourself. Listen to your body, look at your results, your weight, your symptoms, your life in general, and honestly assess exactly where you are at right now. The body never lies, so if you are not happy right now, then what you are doing right now is not the way to go forward for you.
This is the whole reason why I spend anything up to 4 hours assessing people before giving them any advice: I take a holistic view of their body to ascertain what direction I should take them in to reach their goals. I can sit here at my computer writing blog after blog, but until I know exactly what’s going on with that person, it could all be to no avail.
And you know what? Of course, there are people out there who are smoking, drinking, eating junk-food, etc etc and they have no obvious symptoms, or weight problems. For all intensive purposes they are happy and healthy. Who am I to judge a person by saying that they shouldn’t smoke, or shouldn’t drink, because for all I know they might be getting on just fine doing what they are doing.
However, I am not suggesting you go and try this, because these people are very rare indeed, but I hope you get the point of what I am saying. If you are into reading about health and fitness like I am, then you will be aware of the contradictions that face this industry on a daily basis: Eat high protein, eat high fat, eat low fat, take cod liver oils, cod liver oils are bad for you, eat carbs, don’t eat carbs… If you followed everything you read then there’d be nothing left to follow!
This is why for me the simplest plan is often the most sensible. I take things back to as “Primal” time as possible (Note: This does not mean ‘Paleo Diet’) as this makes the most sense to me. But, of course, everyone is different.
So, if you want to smoke, then do it. If you want to drink, then do it. But be aware enough to notice when it’s not working for you and be brave enough to change what you’ve been doing. Now I don’t smoke or drink, but I am a fan of the saying, “Everything in moderation.” There certainly is a middle way in this world.
The saying that I prefer, however, is, “Everything in moderation… including moderation.” What this means is that we should probably moderate our moderation too.
I hope this helps some people if they are ever challenged with making decisions about their health. Or maybe I have made things more confusing for you?!
And then next time some ‘crazy’ guy tells you to go and take your shoes off and run around some trails barefoot because it’s the best thing for you… don’t listen to him. Try it for yourself. That is, unless he’s got his shoes off.
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