The Dark Side of Healthy Living
by Vin Miller
Have you ever been frustrated or overwhelmed by the demands of living a healthy lifestyle? Did it lead you to think that the effort might not be worthwhile?
Following a healthy lifestyle can be hard work, especially in the beginning when significant changes are often the most necessary. If this weren’t the case, obesity and poor health wouldn’t be nearly as prevalent as they are. Although there are a variety of reasons why people choose to risk their health with unhealthy habits, some of these reasons are more common than others and I thought it would be interesting to take a deeper look at what is holding many people back from a much better quality of life.
Change is Difficult and Overwhelming
The convenience of modern life makes it very easy for people to be sedentary, take on too much stress, deprive themselves of sleep, and eat a lot of unhealthy food. As such, most people have fallen into a routine that deviates greatly from a healthy lifestyle, and as a result, they’re often overwhelmed by the prospect of significant changes such as eliminating their favorite foods, reducing their activities, and going to bed a few hours earlier. Unfortunately, many people would rather maintain the comfort of their unhealthy routine, even at the cost of compromising their lives in the long run.
There’s a Learning Curve
The willingness to change isn’t worth much without the knowledge required to make it happen. Unfortunately, there’s so much misleading and contradictory information circulating about healthy lifestyle habits that it can take a lot of persistence and critical thinking to recognize what’s sensible. Of the people who are committed enough to even try getting past this issue, a number of them will lose their patience and return to their old habits.
You Can’t Live on Indulgence
To some, eating unhealthy food, staying up late, or repeating any other unhealthy habit with little or no restriction is their idea of living life to the fullest. Although this type of thinking is seriously flawed, there’s no doubt that it can be quite difficult to avoid the unhealthy foods and activities that many of us have become so accustomed to.
Many of today’s popular processed foods are high in sugar and refined carbohydrates which can be highly addictive and very difficult to avoid. Similarly, people who overexercise can become addicted to the endorphin rush, and people who deprive themselves of sleep in exchange for more time mistakenly think that they’re increasing their productivity. Unfortunately, these people don’t truly understand the benefits of optimal health and shortchange themselves by thinking the sacrifice isn’t worthwhile.
Healthy Food is More Expensive and Harder to Find
The higher price of organic food and especially pasture raised meat is one of the most common objections that people have when considering a switch to a healthier diet, and it certainly doesn’t help that such food can be difficult to find. Despite the fact that there are ways to reduce the cost of healthy food, some people are unwilling to make the commitment.
You Can’t Eat Out as Much
Restaurants that serve truly healthy food are a rare find and can be quite expensive. Even if you have a few in your area, restaurant meals tend to contain a wide variety of ingredients, some of which may not agree with you. As such, an important part of a healthy diet is preparing most of your meals yourself so that you have control of the ingredients. However, eating out can be an extremely difficult activity to limit if you’ve become dependent on it as a leisure activity or as a convenient source of meals.
Other People May Think You’re Obsessive
As previously mentioned, the average modern lifestyle is a far way off from being healthy, and as a result, you really have to go out of your way to follow healthy habits. This is likely to draw attention, and when it does, people who don’t understand the purpose of your efforts are likely to think that you’re obsessive. For example, you may be ridiculed for not wanting to have a beer, going out of your way to avoid sugar, or like me, eating meat for breakfast. As such, some people may have a difficult time with this and choose to not bother with the healthy habits that bring on the unwanted attention.
Healthy Habits Require More Time
Despite the many conveniences of modern life, many of us are busier than ever and are barely able to keep up. As a result, few people are willing to adjust their priorities and make available the additional time required to prepare healthy meals, exercise, or educate themselves on healthy habits. Although there are ways to reduce the time requirements of a healthy lifestyle, such as cooking in bulk and high intensity interval training, it still requires more time and commitment than the microwaveable dinners and sedentary lifestyles that most people have become accustomed to.
Awareness Exposes Depressing Realities
As the saying goes, ignorance is bliss. Realizing the full extent of the life altering shortcomings of modern medicine and industrialized farming in combination with the corruption and influence of the drug and processed food industries can be quite depressing. For example, perhaps you’ve spent many years living a life compromised by the limitations of disease, the side effects of medication, and the frustration of being bounced around from specialist to specialist. Discovering that you’ve been badly misled and that all of this could have been avoided with a healthier lifestyle will likely inspire some painful emotions. For some, these emotions may be too strong to tolerate and lead to denial and a continuation of unhealthy habits.
Family Members are Often Resistant
I personally have a very difficult time watching people make bad decisions in regard to their health. For many people, including myself, this concern is much more intense in regard to family members. This is particularly true among parents who naturally want the best for their children. For whatever reason, it always seems easier to dismiss the advice of a family member. In regard to a matter as serious as health, this can often lead to anger, frustration, and resentment. As such, some people will choose the comfort of conforming with their family over the conflict that might result from trying to set a healthy example.
Traveling Can Be Quite a Challenge
Although it’s certainly possible to continue following a healthy lifestyle while away from home, it requires additional planning that some people would rather not bother with. Unless you have a place to stay with at least a refrigerator, you’ll be left at the mercy of restaurants, and as mentioned earlier, this will make it much more difficult to maintain a healthy diet. As such, people who travel frequently are far less likely to deal with the hassle of bringing food with them or searching for healthy alternatives.
Is it Really That Bad?
I just described the most inconvenient and undesirable aspects of living a healthy lifestyle that I could think of. It’s estimated that 2 out of every 3 Americans have or will develop cancer or heart disease. Both of these diseases, which are the two leading causes of death in America, are highly correlated with lifestyle. In comparison, is the extra effort and discipline required by a healthy lifestyle really that bad? You can start working on implementing healthier habits right now by signing up for my free course, 7 Simple Steps to a Leaner, Happier, and Healthier You!
This article is part of Real Food Wednesdays.
Post this on Twitter
Post this on Facebook
Support this on StumbleUpon
Email this to friends
Leave a comment
Thank you so much for this great post. Just this week I encountered almost all these arguments from my mother. “Life’s too short” she said, “to obsess over what you eat!” Her 80th birthday is next week and that in itself should be a sign she’s doing something right. But her daily medications, high blood pressure, cholesterol count, hip surgery, sun allergy, breast cancer, arthritis, memory issues and obesity say otherwise.
What a great post! My chiropractor sister & I happened into a friend’s house & saw a case of diet soda in the kitchen & gave each other THE LOOK. Translation: Really? We know someone who drinks that stuff?!
H.
Yes, these things all get in the way at times. The one I find the most difficult is travelling because then I’m at the mercy of the available food.
As for eating out, I rarely do that now because I no longer enjoy it. I usually find I spend too much money for a meal that is not as good as one we can cook at home. Also, it’s really important to me to eat meat that is reared to an exceptionally high standard of welfare and I can never be sure that when eating out.
The other thing I find important is planning. When I plan my meals for the week and shop accordingly, I eat far more healthily than I do when I am going from one day to the next and trying to put together stuff from what’s available in the fridge and freezer.
It can be difficult, yes, but it gets easier with time and practice to where healthy living is just a way of life. I need my occasional “cheat days”–it keeps me sane.
The bottom line is we all have a choice in what kind of quality of life we have. The easy road is tempting but rarely the best choice.
I’ve always thought I was pretty healthy but this year I was determined not to get sick anymore. You just have to find what works for you as an individual. I’ve been taking fish oil religiously and have not had a single incidence of sickness in 2009.
I recentlyl reduced carbs a great deal and started eating more “Primal”. The result? My insomnia has disappeared. Along these lines, I’ve reduced the crazy cardio routine and now am having fun with my workouts.
This site is a good motivator (although I’m not as hardcore as you, Vin).
I chuckled reading this post as you’ve pretty much covered all the obstacles that people run into when eating healthy. For donkey’s years I’ve been mostly a vegan and sometimes a vegetarian. And I eat a LOT of raw food. So I related to this from my early days. I agree with Faith that with time it does get easier and we become more and more creative. And beyond that we simply become more satisfied with simpler food. So we might need a fridge, stove, etc. I’ve lived for long periods in the jungle without a fridge. I’ve been eating healthy for so long that I now simply listen to my body and adjust what I eat in accordance with the results. I can immediately sense when something is not appropriate for me or throws my body out, stops me sleeping, etc. I simply avoid it. I can feel what gives me energy and what drains me.
The reason I think your list is good here is because it looks directly at the challenges that healthy eaters can face. In light of that they don’t feel so alone. You are a voice they can hear and say, “Oh wow, he understands.” That’s a great thing. You are doing good work here.
The irony of all this is that if you can overcome these obstacles and live a healthy lifestyle, the top causes of death will not change much. You might be less likely to get diabetes but other than that most of the top ten causes of death will still get you only at a later stage in life. What people don’t think of very often is that these habits don’t eliminate risks they just lower mortality rates and on average add healthy years to the end of one’s life. I guess you could say it’s worth it to overcome these obstacles only if you want more healthy years more than you enjoy indulging and living a sedentary lifestyle.
Thank you all for your comments!
Local Nourishment – That’s my point exactly! It’s a shame more people don’t realize what they’re missing out on, especially when it’s a family member.
Hali – Busted!
Diet soda is nasty stuff and it’s ironic and unfortunate that people think they’re doing good for themselves by drinking it.
Jude – I agree that traveling is one of the toughest times to stay in a healthy routine, especially if you travel frequently. I usually embrace the 80/20 rule a little more than normal when I travel and make sure that there will be a kitchen where I’m staying so that I can either bring food or cook.
For reasons similar to yours, I don’t eat out much either, and planning makes a huge difference for me too. I’ve found that preparing a bunch of meals at once leaves less chance of running out of time or food and having to eat something unhealthy.
Faith – We all need to cheat a little, that’s what the 80/20 rule is for!
I’m glad to hear that you’re experiencing such great benefits from improving your diet and your exercise habits. Keep up the good work!
Robin – I wrote this article more for the people who think a healthy lifestyle isn’t worth the effort, but what you mentioned about health conscious people not feeling so alone is a great thought! Thanks for mentioning that!
Brian – In the most respectful way, I completely disagree that healthy habits won’t change the leading causes of death! Just a century ago, heart disease and cancer were far less prevalent than they are today. The work of people like Weston Price who studied primitive cultures living in modern times, but without the unhealthy influences, showed that these people had little to no incidence of today’s common debilitating diseases such as heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and autoimmune disease.
Thanks for the opposing argument Vin, you are probably right to an extent. 100 years ago people died of different causes than they do today due to a variety of reasons; mostly dietary changes, physical activity changes, and medical advances. The most obvious illustration of this is the advent of antibiotics leading to vast declines in death due to infection.
You are right, healthy habits will extend life and open the door for new ways for the body to decline and die. Unfortunately we won’t know what they are until we solve the problems that affect people’s health today such as heart disease, cancer, and the like. I wonder if those primitive cultures living in modern times have access to modern healthcare. Do you know? I wonder what their life spans are. I will have to research Price.
I actually recently read The Blue Zones where the author, Dan Buettner, interviews countless centenarians from poor areas of the world (Loma Linda excluding) and he found that extended life was caused primarily due to diet, sense of purpose, and activity levels, among many other case specific factors. The point however was that the elderly still die of one thing or another. Hearts give out and cancer develops in old age… of course the older you get the more likely you are to die of an accident or illness. Maybe that explains some of the disagreement between our perspectives. Of course, I might have just proved your point inadvertently right there.
I apologize for not knowing anything about Weston Price, I will make sure to Google him and read up on some of his work. Keep writing; I’m new to your blog and enjoying your perspective.
I know a number of people who feel their unhealthy habits are “living life to the fullest”. Yet they complain about never feeling good, take lots of prescription drugs, and are always running to the doctor. It is frustrating that I can’t make them understand that if they changed to a healthier lifestyle they would feel so much better, and really that is living life to the fullest. And you are right about family members being most resistant. Great piece!
Brian – Yes, we’ll obviously all die of something. However, I definitely don’t consider the high incidence and early onset of heart disease and cancer to be a natural result of aging. Heart failure could very well still be a common cause of death, but not for the same reasons as it is today, and certainly not as early in life. I suppose the same could be said for cancer, but even though I have no evidence to back this up, I suspect that cancer is far less likely to occur as a natural consequence of very old age as heart failure would be.
You could learn more about Weston Price and his work by visiting the Weston A Price Foundation’s website. If you really want to dig in, you should read Price’s book Nutrition and Physical Degeneration in which he discusses in detail his research of primitive cultures.
Regarding modern health care, Price says that many of these cultures didn’t have doctors or dentists because they didn’t need them. I haven’t finished Price’s book yet and don’t know what they did for traumatic injuries or infections. I don’t know what the average lifespan was either, but it was common to find people who lived as long or longer than the average person today, but in much better health and with much more capacity. Besides, considering that most people today are already half dead and living a significantly compromised life by their 50s or 60s, or even earlier in some cases, the fact that modern medicine can extend the longevity of such individuals makes lifespan a bit misleading.
I’m glad you’re enjoying the site!
Your site looks pretty interesting as well and I look forward to checking it out in more detail. I recently ordered a book about aging that you might enjoy. I haven’t read it yet, but it sounds interesting and seems to be directly related to what we’re discussing here. It’s called Ending Aging: The Rejuvenation Breakthroughs That Could Reverse Human Aging in Our Lifetime.
Meatlessmama – Yes! That’s a perfect synopsis of what I’m trying to say! Thank you for sharing that!
Hey Vin, this is great. I think this is one of the toughest if it impacts you: “Family Members are Often Resistant”.
I’ve found that very gradual change worked best for me. I didn’t go cold turkey. I just made incremental changes over time so at no time did my diet differ that much from the week before. Over a few months I was able to completely change with little suffering or diet shock.
I wanted to point out that Weston Price’s book Nutition and Physical Degeneration is available to read online, as well.
http://journeytoforever.org/farm_library/price/pricetoc.html
Great post! My family has been slowly transitioning our diet/lifestyle since last fall. There are still things I need to work on (more sleep!), but I’m proud of our progress so far. My husband tells me all the time how great he feels.
We went to the county fair last night, and one of the things we always loved in the past are certain “fair foods”. Well after eating just ONE of our old favorites, we were done with fair food! In fact, we couldn’t even finish eating. We both felt terrible, and still feel the effects today. Lesson learned! Next year we will be taking our own healthy food from home to eat picnic style. It’s true that your body adapts to healthy, whole foods, and rejects any future imposters.
We have overcome most of the difficulties you listed above. I worry a bit about our next visit to see extended family, since they definitely still eat the SAD. I’ll probably bring a few items, such as pastured eggs, raw milk, etc. It’s important to me that my 19 month old son has these foods, even when we travel. It helps that I’ve always been know as being a little “out there” to my family. They will probably just shake their heads and say, “You know Jen, she’s always had her own ideas about things”. That’s fine with me.
I’ll probably even offer to cook a thing or two with healthy, quality ingredients, so maybe they will see for themselves how wonderful it is to eat real food.
The best thing is, time is always at your side! Especially for creating strategies according to your environment and implementation. I use whatever that does not work as an opportunity to get more creative.
Keeping the schedule aside and actually focusing on the strategy and progress keeps you actually more focused, so I believe it is a mistake to hold the schedule too tightly. Or you can choose to not make a schedule at all! I can if the progress bar reaches 80% in the course of say, 3 years I will say it was worth it!
So, I love following the 80/20 rule to keep obsession away and it keeps you focused on the progress.
In a graph this is what I feel progress looks like: bad habits diminishing at a certain rate at the same time good habits increasing at a certain rate. In other words It is like the bad color fading and good color getting more saturated at the same time.
For traveling it depends on your location, and if you like the local food (it can be a nice try!). For example in Malaysia places that serve whole foods are frequent, as often the case in Asia. They even allow no MSG but the cookware is likely to have it contaminated. Again use the power of acceptance and keep your obsession away!
The no obsession trick is making me happier, Vin. cheers!
I believe most people want to eat healthy. Our days are so starved for time that we just choose the easy road. Unfortunately the easy road is dominated by the big bad corporate machine that is selling us convenience at the cost of our health and well being. You know the saying “Misery love company.” If you shun the easy road you become the outsider. Healthy people make unhealthy people feel guilty about their choices. How many people would choose a Big Mac over home cooking if they had a choice. Not many. We need slow down and change our priorities. Thanks for another thoughtful post, Vin.
Thank you all for more great comments!
Stephen – Yes, family resistance is definitely tough and can be one of the most difficult aspects. This ties in especially well with your comment about taking things gradually. Not only is this a good idea for anyone taking on change, but also in regard to the expectations they have of their family.
Jen – I had no idea that Weston Price’s book is online. Thanks for sharing that! It sounds like you and your husband are doing great. Keep it up! I’ve experienced the same thing as what you described about the fair food. Once you get used to a clean diet and the benefits that it provides, it’s much easier to notice unfavorable reactions to food. I think it’s a great idea to bring healthy food with you on your visit to extended family! Maybe you’ll convert some of them!
Ægil – You’re absolutely right! If you obsess over healthy habits, it will be an unnecessary source of stress and defeat the purpose. It can be tough in the beginning to have the focus needed to implement new habits without stressing about it, but it’s certainly possible and definitely becomes easier with experience.
Don – Great point! I agree that most people want to be healthy. The problem is their interpretation of what being healthy means. As you said, it’s easy be influenced by the fast pace of modern life and succumb to convenience based habits. Unfortunately, this has become so common that it makes it much harder for people to realize what’s healthy and what’s not.
Excellent article and I’m glad I found your site! It’s like you were talking DIRECTLY to me in all the excuses I used to have! I have slowly but surely made some (more) healthier changes in my diet and things are working for me. It’s funny that once I started on a healthier journey, there were more potlucks, outings, dinners, vacations, etc. that I was invited to and found it hard to stay on track – that is until I learned that continuing bad habits and succumbing to my environment was not working for me. I don’t mind saying no these days and that’s a big breakthrough for me! I hope you don’t mind but I’ve RT’d this article and posted this link to my friends on FB. Can’t wait to delve further into the site and find more inspirational, interesting, articles!
Thanks for your comment, Kesha!
It’s great to hear that you’ve overcome the common excuses for not living a healthy lifestyle. Once you make the effort and experience the benefits, the incentive becomes much more obvious and it’s easier to stay committed and say no to unhealthy temptations. keep up the great work!
Of course I don’t mind. In fact, I appreciate it. Thank you! Posting the article on Twitter and Facebook helps to spread the message about the value of healthy and inspired living.