Except when they aren't.
What the health and wellness industry seems to have forgotten (and what I only recently realized) is that just because human bodies are human bodies - machines - doesn't mean that we're all the same *type* of machine. Maybe you're a hybrid, and I'm a mack truck. Both machines, both operating under the same basic concept, but radically different.
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Right now, it seems like most Americans are hybrids. The magazines cater to them, the fitness gurus talk to them, and they're drawing in the rest of the country with their amazing success stories. Except, we're forgetting that not everyone is a hybrid. Some of us are mack trucks.
For years I've been studying (and trying to follow) the health and fitness advice out there - most of which comes from eastern countries. Yoga, for example, comes from India. Much of our understanding of what foods to eat and not eat come from China and Greece. Lots of our exercise practices come from ancient Rome.
Where *don't* these things come from? Ireland, Scotland, Germany, and Norway.
Where do I come from? Genetically speaking: Ireland, Scotland, Germany, and Norway.
It's taken over a year of intense research for me to finally figure out that I should probably be looking for advice about how to take care of my body from people who have been taking care of bodies like mine for centuries. You don't ask a Toyota technician to rebuild a Mack truck engine.
I say 'figure out,' but what I mean is "stumble blindly into." My recent fascination with running as a lifestyle led me to a beginner's guide and I bought it before I realized where it came from. When I did see the British copyright info, I almost didn't read it! "I'm American," I thought, "I should get advice from Americans." But something - curiosity, probably - urged me on.
For most of my life, the health and fitness conversation has felt like Trigonometry class: I don't get it, everyone else seems to get it, I can't figure out why I don't get it, and it frustrates the living daylights out of me. But the British magazine changed everything. The words inside are encouraging, the advice makes sense, and the training plan looks like the most do-able thing on the planet.
Too good to be true, I thought. This has to be a load of bull.
Another recent fascination is genetics and how they affect the ways that people develop and what they need. Do Celtic women really have hotter tempers than most? Are Norse men made for war? As I was reading this British magazine, two thoughts occurred to me:
1) Do those of Celtic/Norse heritage have different nutritional and exercise needs than other genetic groups?
2) Where, geographically, do the Celts and Norse concentrate together?
After research I can tell you the answers are: "Yes," and "BRITAIN, DUMMY!"
It's such a relief to finally see solutions to my problems. Better yet, I can now see that my desire for certain macro-nutrient groups (sugars and fats mainly) isn't just a self-discipline issue. Portion control is a self-discipline issue, but the desire itself and the fact that my life is just better when I'm giving in to that desire even a little, doesn't make me a weak person! As it turns out, Celtic female bodies just tend to need more sugars and fats than, say, African or Spanish or Greek or even strictly English bodies.
All these years of beating myself up and feeling like a failure because I just can't manage to totally keep my hands off the sweets (and when I do, it's for a short period followed by a long binge). All these years, and what I really needed was to find home. To find the people like me, who held the missing puzzle pieces.
What a relief!
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