I recently read a book called the “Joy of Laziness” which I thoroughly enjoyed since it validates my lifestyle. It’s basically a book of tips for living longer. Written by two former German marathoners that also happen to have Ph.D’s, it’s a book that blew away two fundamental beliefs I had. Belief #1) the more you exercise the better, and #2) skipping meals and being hungry is bad for you. WRONG and WRONG.
It turns out that very very mild exercise is best, and the quota is usually fulfilled just going about your normal business. Maybe a short walk twice a week, if you are completely sedentary. The authors are essentially saying exercise wears your body out. I’ve told this to several of my friends and no one is buying it. It sounds wrong. In fact, it’s totally counter to what I’ve believed my entire life about exercise.
The second tip is not as hard to swallow but still strikes me as wrong. Let’s say I wake up, have a piece of toast for breakfast, skip lunch, and then just have soup and crackers for dinner….according to the book, that would be a very good life extending day. And the hungrier you were the better. It turns out that the process of metabolizing food burns up your life. Hunger kills baby cancer cells before it kills normal cells. Turns out, hunger does lots of good things.
Because of this, I’ve been playing around with eating smaller portions. Like just a half sandwich for lunch, instead of a whole one. Splitting entrees with Heather at restaurants, skipping dinner and having a pear or a banana instead, etc. Last night, I TRIED to only eat 2 pieces of pizza, but the third piece was too hard to resist.
In any event, the bottom line for me is: whatever I’m currently believing right now, no matter how sure I am of it, could be totally false. So I’m going to try to keep an open mind on things from this point forward.
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