Rocky Mountain High

This is day four:

• Day four of eating within my calorie range
• Day four of consistent exercise
• Day four of at least 8 hours of sleep

I forget that this is what balance feels like when it’s been awhile since I’ve been at 100%. There’s no mental fog. This feels good. I have more mental clarity at work than I’ve had in months. I’ve been so productive! There are other benefits, too, but this is one of my favorites.

In our country in 2012, two-thirds of our population was overweight or obese. That’s a lot of people walking around in a mental fog. Maybe they don’t know it’s a fog because they’ve never been out of it. Or it’s been so long since they’ve had this clarity, they don’t remember it. I had a hard time remembering the feel of it after just a few short months.

The map below is always interesting to me. The corresponding article said overweight and obesity are concentrated in the south and the Midwest. I always get a little ruffled about that. I consider Nebraska the Midwest rather than the Northern Plains. The Midwest they’re referring to includes Ohio, W. Virginia, Kentucky, Missouri and Michigan. I can just calm down. However, Nebraska isn’t doing a whole lot better - ranked 21.

How do we hit Colorado’s rate? Congratulations, you’re ranked 51! You’re the thinnest people in the country! Do they all hike the mountains? Is it the altitude? What can they teach the people in Mississippi (ranked #1)? Or the rest of us? We have to look for some serious answers. If we don’t, we’re headed toward looking like real versions of the people in the cartoon movie Wall-e.

I’m using my grocery and restaurant (Chipotle, HuHot) budget to show companies what I’d like to see more of – fresh, real food with no hormones, antibiotics, or high-fructose corn syrup and as few preservatives as possible. It’s a start. There’s a long way to go. We have to change a culture focused on volume to one focused on quality; a culture that looks to food as entertainment rather than fuel. Or…we could just move to Colorado…