I just read an article that has made me furious. No, it wasn't the Olsen Twins revealing their $39,000 backpack, which by the way, I hope comes stuffed with $38,900 of cash. It was the report that the FDA for the first time in 13 years has approved a new weight loss drug. Why would this make me furious? Well, first of all I don't believe that pharmaceuticals are the answer to many of our health problems, and a look at this article exemplifies why. All sections in bold below are quotes taken from the Reuters news article on the approval of the new drug, Belviq.
Due to safety concerns and deaths in the past resulting from previous weight loss drugs, the FDA has set the bar higher for its approval process of such drugs. But since America is getting more and more obese, the FDA has been under pressure to approve a new drug to combat obesity. Seems like a good reason to lower your standards, right? Peer pressure?
"It appears that the agency's view has officially shifted towards 'not treating obesity is a risk in and of itself, so we're willing to put drugs in the market in order to help people lose weight, even if there's risk associated'," Cowen and Co analyst Simos Simeonidis said in a research note.
I could see this line of reasoning if there was no other way for people to lose weight. The thing is, there is already a way for people to lose weight and combat obesity, and it is extremely low risk. Actually, doing it lowers your risks for multiple other factors, like heart disease, high cholesterol, and diabetes.
Wall Street sees a successful new diet drug raking in billions of dollars.
Bingo. Money talks in this country, and much more loudly than the voice of reason. Pharmaceutical companies spend a gazillion (give or take a dillion) on marketing and convincing the public, and doctors, to use their medications.
Belviq is designed to block appetite signals in the brain to help people feel full after eating smaller amounts of food. In large clinical trials, patients on average lost about 5 percent of body weight. The drug's FDA-approved label says Belviq use should be stopped if a patient has not reached 5 percent weight loss after 12 weeks of daily use.
I read this and my jaw hit the floor. The results of a large clinical trial were that people lost about 5% of their body weight? Are you kidding me? Lets look at the numbers on that. Take a woman who is 5' 5" and weighs 250 lbs. Her BMI would be 41.6 and she would be considered obese, which is who this drug is targeted towards. Now if she took the pill and lost 5% of her body weight over a 12 week period, she would have lost 12.5 lbs, or about 1 pound per week. Hmmm, this is EXACTLY how much weight one would lose if they were doing the thing I mentioned above- you know, the one with low to no risk? The one that, when done, lowers your risk of heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, and high cholesterol, to name a few?
Arena will have to conduct six follow-up studies, including a long-term study of whether Belviq increases the risk of heart attack or stroke, the FDA said.
This is great. How about we find that out before we approve the drug and put it on the market? I'm fine with this approach if we're talking about an experimental drug for people with a terminal illness, sure, what have you got to lose. But a weight loss drug? This is the whole reason the FDA has been reluctant to approve these types of drugs, because of the risks involved. But I mean, it is well worth the risk, right? Possibly greater risk for heart attacks and strokes, but you could lose 5% of your body weight! (Note: I'm being sarcastic in that last part).
This is what is so wrong with our approach to our health in this country. That magical thing I alluded to above, the one that has equal if not better results than this pill can muster, and does so without needing any follow up studies to see if it will kill you? Guess what it is? Diet and exercise! (Surprise, right?) And by "diet" I don't mean some wacky restrictive fad diet, that doesn't let you eat carbs, or eat all the ice cream you want and still lose weight, or any of that other bogus crap the "diet industry" comes up with every year. No, I'm just talking about what you eat. The foods that make up your, well, diet. Eat well. Run a reasonable calorie deficit. Exercise. Repeat.
Unfortunately people think that is too difficult, or that it won't work. I've heard countless people say "I've tried every diet out there and they don't work. I lose the weight but then I just put it back on." Yes, that is because, and let me be very clear about this: DIETS DO NOT WORK. You know why people put the weight back on? Because they didn't change their behavior. They didn't change their lifestyle. All they did was follow a program for a few weeks, then go back to their old ways.
Why would it be any different for someone taking a pill for 12 weeks? It wouldn't.
There are no shortcuts to wellness. There is no easy way to go from being unhealthy to healthy in a matter of a few weeks. If you see some diet or product that says you can lose 20 lbs in 20 days, or some other such claim? Run in the other direction. Immediately. And keep running, because running is good for you.
Think about it: if there was an easy solution to weight loss out there that actually worked, wouldn't everyone know about it? Wouldn't that stop the endless cascade of new diets and products that flood the market every year promising amazing weight loss results? The diets and products keep coming out because they don't work, and they also happen to make the people who sell them a ton of money. Funny how that works.
It takes many days, that turn into months, that turn into years, of us making bad health choices that lead to us gaining weight. The only thing that will undo that is many days, that turn into months, that turn into years, of us making good choices for our health. That is how you lose weight. I know this. I'm one of the rare people who lost the weight (61 pounds as I write this), and kept it off. And I did it without the aid of any gimmicks or diets.
Belviq is not medicine. Food is medicine.
Be well.
Seth
June 28, 2012
June 19, 2012
The Golden Rule
As part of a course I am currently enrolled in, I have been spending a lot of time contemplating physics and philosophy. I'm going to focus on the philosophy in this post, as I am not smart enough to tackle the physics. But I will say this: that Einstein guy was pretty smart.
One theme that was central in some recent class material was the idea often referred to as The Golden Rule, commonly recited as "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." In short, be nice. But the more we peer under the surface, the more we see the far reaching implications of The Golden Rule.
So what does it really mean? Well, first off, let us acknowledge that The Golden Rule is not special to Christianity. It is a theme that is central in many different religious teachings:
Judaism: "What is hateful to you, do not to your fellowman. That is the entire law; all the rest is commentary." -Talmud, Shabbat 31a.
Buddhism: "Hurt not others in ways that you yourself would find hurtful." - Udana-Varga 5:18.
Islam: "No one of you is a believer until he desires for his brother that which he desires for himself." - Sunnah
So in essence, don't do something if you wouldn't want it done to you. But why? Why do so many different religions make such a point of stressing the importance of this? I believe that this philosophy drills right down into one of the most important aspects of existence, and that is that everything in this universe- every man, woman, child, dog, frog, blade of grass, molecule of oxygen, and speck of star dust, is connected to everything else. You know the saying "we're all in this together"? Well, we really are all in this together. The religions understand this, and that is why The Golden Rule is so critical.
The reason that it is so important we do not dump our garbage over our neighbor's fence and into their lawn isn't so that they will not turn around and do the same. No. It is on a much greater scale than that. The reason is that every action has an equal and opposite reaction. (Ok, I admit, this is physics, specifically Newtonian). What this means to us though is that we get back what we put out, AKA- karma. If we do bad, we're going to get bad back. If we do good, we get good back.
Think about a world in which everyone adhered to the Golden Rule. If people acted with integrity, respect, and compassion, what would we get? We'd get justice. If people and corporations adhered to these principles, would we have rampant corporate malfeasance in our society? Would we have dog fighting rings? Would we have 24-hour cable news networks? (Well we might, but their content would be completely different.)
You might be saying, "Seth, what the heck does this have to do with health? I want to know what carbs are good carbs, and which ones to avoid." Well, this has everything to do with our wellness. The better we are as individual people, the better off the world we live in becomes. If we are self-centered and concerned with only what is best for our individual situation, we promote a world that is self-centered and focused on ego. If we take into consideration how our interactions and actions affect others, then we help to create a world that reflects these values. This is what the various religions were getting at. The more positive energy we put out, the more positive energy there is in this universe.
I'll use myself as an example, specifically two things that I am working on as a person. The first is that I am trying to be less judgmental of people and situations. It is difficult, and it is something that I find myself working on every single day. Many of us have a natural inclination to quickly judge a new person or situation based on certain cues that we associate with our past experiences. This is a one-dimensional way to view a person, and does not have the integrity, respect, and compassion that I seek to treat others with. Also, I don't want to be judged by others, so it sort of flies in the face of that whole Golden Rule thingy that is so important.
The second thing that I am working on is speaking more from my heart and being more honest and forthright in my interactions. Being more authentic. This blog post is a great example of that. It isn't the easiest thing in the world to come out and talk about the belief that everything in the universe is connected to everything else. For one, it is very personal and intimate. Secondly, it is the kind of thing that some people might read and think, "That Seth guy is nuts. Plum loco. All foam, no beer." You know, judgmental stuff. Well, I could play it safe and just talk about good carbs and bad carbs, but then I would be one-dimensional. I wouldn't be authentic, and I would most definitely not be working towards fulfilling my personal mission.
I would encourage all of us to work towards being more self-aware of our actions and how they stack up against The Golden Rule. The actions we are putting out there- are they actions that we would like to see coming back at us? Because eventually they will.
And full disclosure, I am not perfect. Nobody is. And I am not better than anybody else. I am just working on being better than the one person on this planet I can be better than- me.
Be well.
Seth
One theme that was central in some recent class material was the idea often referred to as The Golden Rule, commonly recited as "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." In short, be nice. But the more we peer under the surface, the more we see the far reaching implications of The Golden Rule.
So what does it really mean? Well, first off, let us acknowledge that The Golden Rule is not special to Christianity. It is a theme that is central in many different religious teachings:
Judaism: "What is hateful to you, do not to your fellowman. That is the entire law; all the rest is commentary." -Talmud, Shabbat 31a.
Buddhism: "Hurt not others in ways that you yourself would find hurtful." - Udana-Varga 5:18.
Islam: "No one of you is a believer until he desires for his brother that which he desires for himself." - Sunnah
So in essence, don't do something if you wouldn't want it done to you. But why? Why do so many different religions make such a point of stressing the importance of this? I believe that this philosophy drills right down into one of the most important aspects of existence, and that is that everything in this universe- every man, woman, child, dog, frog, blade of grass, molecule of oxygen, and speck of star dust, is connected to everything else. You know the saying "we're all in this together"? Well, we really are all in this together. The religions understand this, and that is why The Golden Rule is so critical.
The reason that it is so important we do not dump our garbage over our neighbor's fence and into their lawn isn't so that they will not turn around and do the same. No. It is on a much greater scale than that. The reason is that every action has an equal and opposite reaction. (Ok, I admit, this is physics, specifically Newtonian). What this means to us though is that we get back what we put out, AKA- karma. If we do bad, we're going to get bad back. If we do good, we get good back.
Think about a world in which everyone adhered to the Golden Rule. If people acted with integrity, respect, and compassion, what would we get? We'd get justice. If people and corporations adhered to these principles, would we have rampant corporate malfeasance in our society? Would we have dog fighting rings? Would we have 24-hour cable news networks? (Well we might, but their content would be completely different.)
You might be saying, "Seth, what the heck does this have to do with health? I want to know what carbs are good carbs, and which ones to avoid." Well, this has everything to do with our wellness. The better we are as individual people, the better off the world we live in becomes. If we are self-centered and concerned with only what is best for our individual situation, we promote a world that is self-centered and focused on ego. If we take into consideration how our interactions and actions affect others, then we help to create a world that reflects these values. This is what the various religions were getting at. The more positive energy we put out, the more positive energy there is in this universe.
I'll use myself as an example, specifically two things that I am working on as a person. The first is that I am trying to be less judgmental of people and situations. It is difficult, and it is something that I find myself working on every single day. Many of us have a natural inclination to quickly judge a new person or situation based on certain cues that we associate with our past experiences. This is a one-dimensional way to view a person, and does not have the integrity, respect, and compassion that I seek to treat others with. Also, I don't want to be judged by others, so it sort of flies in the face of that whole Golden Rule thingy that is so important.
The second thing that I am working on is speaking more from my heart and being more honest and forthright in my interactions. Being more authentic. This blog post is a great example of that. It isn't the easiest thing in the world to come out and talk about the belief that everything in the universe is connected to everything else. For one, it is very personal and intimate. Secondly, it is the kind of thing that some people might read and think, "That Seth guy is nuts. Plum loco. All foam, no beer." You know, judgmental stuff. Well, I could play it safe and just talk about good carbs and bad carbs, but then I would be one-dimensional. I wouldn't be authentic, and I would most definitely not be working towards fulfilling my personal mission.
I would encourage all of us to work towards being more self-aware of our actions and how they stack up against The Golden Rule. The actions we are putting out there- are they actions that we would like to see coming back at us? Because eventually they will.
And full disclosure, I am not perfect. Nobody is. And I am not better than anybody else. I am just working on being better than the one person on this planet I can be better than- me.
Be well.
Seth
June 5, 2012
What does it mean to "be well"?
Hello there. So yeah, I fell a bit off the radar here. I got a little distracted with work and studies, and in doing so neglected my blog. But I've missed writing long enough, so I'm back at it.
You may have noticed I sign off each post with the message "be well". And if you live near me and have seen me driving around, you'd also see that my license plate encourages people to "be well". So what is with all the well wishing? What does it mean to "be well"?
In short- a lot.
When I think about our health, I think of it in terms of wellness. And when I think about wellness, I see it as a continuum. Picture a line with a center and two end points. At the far right of the line we have optimum health and wellness. At the far left of the line we have illness and premature death. In the middle we have neutrality- no obvious illness or wellness. Each one of us is somewhere on this line, and we're heading in one direction or the other. We are either heading towards premature death, or we are moving towards a higher level of wellness.
What does a high level of wellness involve? First of all we need to define what wellness consists of. Being well means more than having good "stats". It is more than the number on a scale, our blood pressure, or our cholesterol levels. All of these measurements can be indicators of our health, but they alone do not determine our wellness. Our wellness is multifaceted. It is a combination of many aspects of our being: accountability, love, feeling, thinking, what we eat, our sex life, how we communicate, etc..
Since wellness is a complex and deep combination of multiple factors, it can also have many different forms and manifestations. You know the old saying 'Never judge a book by its cover"? It applies to people and their wellness. We might look at someone who is in great physical shape next to someone who is 50 pounds over weight and say, "It is obvious which person is well". But really, it isn't. We can't tell by the exterior alone where someone is on the continuum of wellness, and in what direction they are heading. Let's look at two men as examples.
Guy A is an avid triathlete. He runs, bikes, swims, and strength trains religiously. His body fat is 6%. Blood pressure and cholesterol levels are optimal. He is extremely conscientious of what he eats. He is what many people would consider the picture of health, and his "stats" definitely back this up.
Guy B is severely overweight. His Body Mass Index (BMI) puts him in the morbidly obese category. He has struggled with his weight for years, and continues to struggle with his diet. Guy B has made the decision though to reclaim his health. He has lost 75 pounds on his own, and he has now hired a personal trainer to help him lose more weight and make greater gains in his quest for wellness.
Oh, and here is the other thing about Guy A. He berates his young daughters at the local health club when their "dilly-dallying" interferes with his training schedule. He tells them that they are taking away his time, that he should be out on his bike instead of waiting for them to get out of the locker room. He also criticizes his daughters when they are "goofing around" or not taking their work-outs seriously enough. He is consumed with himself and his needs, and begrudges anyone, even his young girls, if they dare interfere with his goals.
Guy B is the kind of guy who will talk to anyone, and will spread joy and smiles when he does so. He knows he is overweight, but he is supremely confident in the directions he is going, and absolutely revels in the progress he has made to this point. He encourages others in the health club in their workouts, and compliments many of his fellow members on their physiques and dedication to taking care of themselves. He approaches every day and every workout with a sense of humor and goodwill.
(DISCLAIMER: Guy A and Guy B are fictitious characters created to make a point. If your name is Guy A or Guy B, well, I'm sorry your parents gave you such an awful name. But this blog post isn't about you. It is a coincidence.)
Now tell me, which one of these two is "well"? The answer is, they both are, but in different ways and for different reasons. One may score highly in the wellness areas that concern physical health, but score very low in the areas that concern relationships, awareness, love, etc.. The other may not score highly in physical areas, but very highly in others concerning awareness, love, etc..
It also highlights one vital fact about wellness: It is possible to be at any point on the wellness continuum in regards to current health, and to be moving in either direction- towards optimum wellness, or towards premature death. It is entirely possible for a person with stage 4 cancer with 6 months to live to be moving towards wellness, because of their attitude and mind set. Likewise, it is entirely possibly for someone in great physical condition to be moving towards premature death, because of their attitude and mind set.
So when I say "be well", it may seem like a simple directive or request, but in truth it is a complex challenge I am issuing. I am asking people to examine themselves on many levels; to become more aware of the many facets and ingredients that constitute their wellness. Being well isn't just a matter of getting to the gym, eating the right foods and being a "healthy weight". These things are part of the puzzle, but there are so many more pieces to it.
If you find this way of thinking about wellness intriguing and would like to explore it in more depth, I would encourage you to read Wellness Workbook- How to Achieve Enduring Health and Vitality, by John W. Travis, M.D., and Regina Sara Ryan. This book has been very influential in helping me clarify and articulate my own feelings and beliefs around health and wellness.
For now.....
Be well.
-Seth
You may have noticed I sign off each post with the message "be well". And if you live near me and have seen me driving around, you'd also see that my license plate encourages people to "be well". So what is with all the well wishing? What does it mean to "be well"?
In short- a lot.
When I think about our health, I think of it in terms of wellness. And when I think about wellness, I see it as a continuum. Picture a line with a center and two end points. At the far right of the line we have optimum health and wellness. At the far left of the line we have illness and premature death. In the middle we have neutrality- no obvious illness or wellness. Each one of us is somewhere on this line, and we're heading in one direction or the other. We are either heading towards premature death, or we are moving towards a higher level of wellness.
What does a high level of wellness involve? First of all we need to define what wellness consists of. Being well means more than having good "stats". It is more than the number on a scale, our blood pressure, or our cholesterol levels. All of these measurements can be indicators of our health, but they alone do not determine our wellness. Our wellness is multifaceted. It is a combination of many aspects of our being: accountability, love, feeling, thinking, what we eat, our sex life, how we communicate, etc..
Since wellness is a complex and deep combination of multiple factors, it can also have many different forms and manifestations. You know the old saying 'Never judge a book by its cover"? It applies to people and their wellness. We might look at someone who is in great physical shape next to someone who is 50 pounds over weight and say, "It is obvious which person is well". But really, it isn't. We can't tell by the exterior alone where someone is on the continuum of wellness, and in what direction they are heading. Let's look at two men as examples.
Guy A is an avid triathlete. He runs, bikes, swims, and strength trains religiously. His body fat is 6%. Blood pressure and cholesterol levels are optimal. He is extremely conscientious of what he eats. He is what many people would consider the picture of health, and his "stats" definitely back this up.
Guy B is severely overweight. His Body Mass Index (BMI) puts him in the morbidly obese category. He has struggled with his weight for years, and continues to struggle with his diet. Guy B has made the decision though to reclaim his health. He has lost 75 pounds on his own, and he has now hired a personal trainer to help him lose more weight and make greater gains in his quest for wellness.
Oh, and here is the other thing about Guy A. He berates his young daughters at the local health club when their "dilly-dallying" interferes with his training schedule. He tells them that they are taking away his time, that he should be out on his bike instead of waiting for them to get out of the locker room. He also criticizes his daughters when they are "goofing around" or not taking their work-outs seriously enough. He is consumed with himself and his needs, and begrudges anyone, even his young girls, if they dare interfere with his goals.
Guy B is the kind of guy who will talk to anyone, and will spread joy and smiles when he does so. He knows he is overweight, but he is supremely confident in the directions he is going, and absolutely revels in the progress he has made to this point. He encourages others in the health club in their workouts, and compliments many of his fellow members on their physiques and dedication to taking care of themselves. He approaches every day and every workout with a sense of humor and goodwill.
(DISCLAIMER: Guy A and Guy B are fictitious characters created to make a point. If your name is Guy A or Guy B, well, I'm sorry your parents gave you such an awful name. But this blog post isn't about you. It is a coincidence.)
Now tell me, which one of these two is "well"? The answer is, they both are, but in different ways and for different reasons. One may score highly in the wellness areas that concern physical health, but score very low in the areas that concern relationships, awareness, love, etc.. The other may not score highly in physical areas, but very highly in others concerning awareness, love, etc..
It also highlights one vital fact about wellness: It is possible to be at any point on the wellness continuum in regards to current health, and to be moving in either direction- towards optimum wellness, or towards premature death. It is entirely possible for a person with stage 4 cancer with 6 months to live to be moving towards wellness, because of their attitude and mind set. Likewise, it is entirely possibly for someone in great physical condition to be moving towards premature death, because of their attitude and mind set.
So when I say "be well", it may seem like a simple directive or request, but in truth it is a complex challenge I am issuing. I am asking people to examine themselves on many levels; to become more aware of the many facets and ingredients that constitute their wellness. Being well isn't just a matter of getting to the gym, eating the right foods and being a "healthy weight". These things are part of the puzzle, but there are so many more pieces to it.
If you find this way of thinking about wellness intriguing and would like to explore it in more depth, I would encourage you to read Wellness Workbook- How to Achieve Enduring Health and Vitality, by John W. Travis, M.D., and Regina Sara Ryan. This book has been very influential in helping me clarify and articulate my own feelings and beliefs around health and wellness.
For now.....
Be well.
-Seth
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