I was just reading the article in the New York Times on Michelle Obama and her desire of fresh food for everyone.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/11/dining/11lady.html?_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss

Besides being a good idea (I prefer to call them whole foods) eating the way nature intends us to is part of the “fusion” of fusion fitness TV. Do you know that if you wanted to lose weight….. WAIT let’s not call it weight, let’s call it body fat,  most would shed it by just eating whole foods?

What do I mean by whole foods? They are what I, as an Intrafitt coach, would call class 1 foods. These are foods NOT made by man. Everyone knows what they are. Vegatables, fruits, grains, legumes, nuts, poultry, fish, water etc. These are foods that we were (whether you believe it or like it) designed for. They are whole foods because that’s what they are. Whole. LOts of vitamins and minerals. Fiber and nutrients that science has not even identified.

Anything else is “messed with.” Class 2 foods for instance are refined foods. These are foods that, for the most part, have been messed with so much that they are essentially “pre-digested”  in a factory somewhere. Chopped, crushed, etc. Anything to make it easier to cook and or aid in a longer shelf life.  Some, such as brown rice, has to be refined to eat it. (brown rice is great thouh in moderation. Fatntastic source a fiber) Others, like instant oatmeal, are heavily refined because it is cheap and easy. So much so that eating it raises blood sugar very quickly possibly producing unfavorable responses. Headaches, fatigue, anxiety,depression and stored body fat among them.

Class 3 foods are processed foods. Soda, instant oatmeal with added artificial flavors such as apple/cinnamon or brekfast cereals. These are foods that have been added to, subtracted from and substantially changed. Chemicals, preservatives, food dyes etc. Why? Longer shelf lives, taste tweaked to sell, sell, sell. All the life has beeen sucked out of these foods. It is like eating cardboard with a chemical topping. Does that sound like the kind of nutrition you could lose body fat on?

Anyway, this subject could occupy an entire book. There are many ways to “lose weight.” One is to starve oneself which will essentially make you a smaller version of what you already were. Not to mention your blood sugar tanking out while your cells scream out for sugar, and they  will do whatever they have to, to get it. Oh and by the way. It is a indesputable way to (over the long term) destroy your health.

A better and MUCH healthier way is to stop fighting against yourself, your body and nature itself. That is a battle you will always lose. Always. Maybe not right away but inevitably and eventually you will lose. Some lose very badly and pay a heavy price. Type 2 diabetes, obesity, stroke, osteoarthritis. On and on. One of these days I will relate the story of a female triathlete I was coaching (age 33) who was constantly injuring herself by getting stress fractures. It turned out she had been so badly anorexic in her teens that she ended up in a hospital with temporary memory loss. Years later the result was she had the bones of a woman in her 70’s. Yikes!

So…whole foods is part of the fusion. Whole foods+exercise= health and fitness. If anyone out there thinks that they can eat crap and exercise will then cancel it all out? Then I have a bridge here in Brooklyn to sell to you.  The food you eat is the fuel and the muscle you exercise is the engine, but to start the car the fuel has to be there first. If you stop and think about that it’s a no brainer. There is a lot more to learn and know about this subject but start here…..

Start the first part of your “fusion.” Eat whole foods whenever possible. Include protein at every meal, drink as much water during your day as you can and please, please, please don’t skip meals and go hungry for several hours at a time.

Robert