Mark Twain Talks About Fitness

HEALTH

He had had much experience of physicians, and said “the only way to keep your health is to eat what you don’t want, drink what you don’t like, and do what you’d druther not.”

- Following the Equator

There are people who strictly deprive themselves of each and ever eatable, drinkable and smokable which has in any way acquired a shady reputation. They pay this price for health. And health is all they get for it. How strange it is. It is like paying out your whole fortune for a cow that has gone dry.

- Mark Twain’s Autobiography

Under our free institutions anybody can poison himself that wants to and will pay the price.

- Mark Twain’s Autobiography

Health And Fitness According To Mark Twain!

This is a little unorthodox and at a glance it may not relate to personal training or nutrition but I’m going to run with it.

Samuel Langhorne Clemens aka Mark Twain; An author and platform entertainer who became tremendously popular in his own day he also has an unbelievable amount of quotes.

Taking a few of Mark Twains quotes I’m going to agree or disagree and get you opinions on what he’s saying and my reactions.

He had had much experience of physicians, and said

“the only way to keep your health is to eat what you don’t want, drink what you don’t like, and do what you’d druther not.”

Agree to disagree

This is a fair point, If you are in the majority then there is absolutely NO way that you can maintain or achieve a low bodyfat percentage or even look or feel healthy if you literally gorge on all of the things you want to or would like to.

I love chocolate… I ‘could’ eat it all day everyday and get some short term satisfaction out of it but in the long term I would end up in a bundle, overweight and possibly developing type 2 diabetes in the process.

So I have to agree with Mark here, there is, and HAS TO BE a certain level of deprivation of you are going to lose weight, or even maintain a lean body you already have.

You all know the person that can eat what they want and still stay thin, I was talking to a client the other day and he said exactly that.

‘my mate eats everything and its all BAD food and you can still see his abs…what gives?!’

I have two answers to this one;

1. It WILL catch up on him eventually.

The irreversible damage he is doing to his metabolism will soon manifest itself, I personally guarantee it. Notice that the one that ‘can eat whatever they want’ is usually the same person that baloons out of shape all of a sudden and develops alot of related diseases later in life. Type 2 diabetes and heart disease to name a few.

2. Being thin doesn’t necessarily mean you are healthy!

Somebody who eats healthily and maybe binges now and again or is a little bit more prone to holding on to bodyfat than the next person can be, and more than likely is FAR healthier than the thin person who eats what they want.

Lets move on…

“There are people who strictly deprive themselves of each and ever eatable, drinkable and smokable which has in any way acquired a shady reputation. They pay this price for health. And health is all they get for it. How strange it is. It is like paying out your whole fortune for a cow that has gone dry.”

- Mark Twain’s Autobiography

Depriving yourself of the foods you like DOES NOT have to be indefinite!

Perhaps I’m wrong but the above quote is a little bit extreme The fact is that if you change around Paretos Law and realise that roughly 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes then your nutrition becomes a little more manageable. You remove the 20% that is causing 80% of the trouble your diet is still 80% in-tact. You aren’t eating like a rabbit and you haven’t had to throw the refrigerator out the window.

Too many trainers/ nutritionists try and remove ALL of the things people like and eat regularly and the resultant diet looks like something you could go out and find in the garden. In an ideal world this is fine but you not a saint, neither am I. Our lives are too busy to adopt this raw, organic, fresh food, healthy fats all the time, regular feeding every three hours bla bla bla

BUT if we can adopt it 80% of the time then it is manageable and it only takes up 20% of the time.

You will get 80% of the results which is better than 0% and everyone’s happy.

You get where I’m coming from?

Losing body fat or getting fit is not about depriving yourself 100% of the time but it is a case of being aware of what you are doing 80% of the time and the other 20% you may have a little room for ‘error’.

Cinema

Eating out

Holidays

All fit into the 20% bracket

Hope this little rant helps…leave a comment if you have anything to say on this matter, or if you want to give out to me, thats fine too

Bryan

http://bryankavanagh.com

Personal Trainer Dublin – Private Temple Bar Studio

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From Late September/early October I will be based in a new personal training studio in Temple Bar, Dublin

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Bryan Kavanagh Personal Training in Temple Bar is much more than just another personal training company!

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Mongolian Barbeque Dublin. This Healthy Buffet Is The Way Forward!

Quick Recommendation for you Dublin people looking to eat healthy (and you willing to travel to temple bar)

I was in the Mongolian Barbeque in temple bar recently and I have to admit I was pleasantly surprised!

I have to admit I had heard good things about the place but I wasn’t expecting it to be so…well… Healthy!

Temple Bar Restaurant

[Aside]

I whole heartedly think that if you are going out for a meal once and a while you should just enjoy the meal itself, trust me it is not the fancy meal you have once every week or two that is stopping you from losing weight/ making you gain bodyfat, it is the things you do everyday…

That out of my system I will continue with the shameless plug of my new favourite restaurant

It is absolutely perfect. I could end the post with that, but I wont.

It is a glorious mixture of all kinds of meat and vegetables that are all fresh and …droool… you can choose from a ridiculously large selection of sauces and spices to give the meal an extra kick.

It fits right in with our ABS food pyramid!

Paleolthic Diet, Well Kind Of...

It is all prepared right on front of you on a big circular griddle type thing and the best part is you get to watch…these guys have these sticks that they throw the food around  like a giant stir fry or something.

Like I said …Epic

My New Friend

I even made friends with the chef

Place is highly recommended

http://www.mongolianbbq.ie/

Enjoy!

Bryan kavanagh BSc. CSCS