We all have teams and sporting figures for whom we root and then celebrate when they are victorious. Let’s face it, at whatever level or whatever sport we’re talking about, these individuals have honed their skills, both physical and mental. They keep themselves in tip-top physical condition, and they spend perhaps even more time in studying their sport – and studying their opponent before each contest.
Legendary professional football coach Vince Lombardi is credited with the famous saying, “Winning isn’t everything; it’s the only thing.” We’ll forgive sporting historians for overlooking the fact that this quote actually originated with UCLA football coach Red Sanders in 1950 – the message remains the same.
Now, we’re obviously not all professional athletes, but we certainly want to win in life. And winning as a parent or as a participant in society – jobs and incomes certainly do matter to a great extent – is just as important to us non-athletes as to those participating in fields and courts of glory. In short, we too need to prepare ourselves physically and mentally for life’s challenges.
Unfortunately, in our hurried existences, we too often fall into eating habits – and as a result, thinking habits – that put us at a disadvantage. Our food choices, given the hectic pace of life in modern America, are not always optimal. As a result, our bodies suffer. There is a reason, after all, that we pretty much lead the world in one particularly daunting category – type 2 diabetes. Throw in the highest rate of heart failure in the world, and we already have two strikes against us.
That’s why, to succeed in this often-unforgiving world of ours, we do indeed need to watch what we eat. Even those who seem able to devour endless amounts of whatever they crave – be it meat, potatoes, bread or sweets – are often putting themselves at risk of limiting their potential. Without a fully functioning healthy body, we are at a disadvantage when it comes to conquering the mental, social and economic challenges that define life in the United States.
I too found myself at the short end of the dietary stick. I couldn’t keep the pounds off, and type 2 was always just around the corner. It was then that I took my diet into my own hands, with solid guidance from my doctor, and beat back the pounds and brought on a new physical and mental vigor.