FOT Fitness Challenge

[Sarah]

Are you eating other monkeys as well?

[iAmBaronVonTito]

the monkeys would be a nice counter to all the sugar im consuming.

[Sarah]

Yeah, protein.  And fur.

[erika]

Are you eating other monkeys as well?

OMG but that's how you get the AIDS!

[Julie]

i couldnt find any decent veggies to throw into a ziploc to snack on (per usual) at work today.  so im on the monkey diet: cherries, banana, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries.

ill be sick by lunch.

I'm so happy to hear you've decided the monkey diet is for you! I'm fairly certain you won't be sick and will find yourself feeling more healthy than ever before.

[Julie]

Are you eating other monkeys as well?

One does not consume monkeys on the monkey diet; rather, one replaces what a human "monkey" would eat with what a knuckle dragging monkey would eat! No question is stupid, so don't feel bad for asking.

[Sarah]

You're right:  you'd eat monkeys if you were on the chimp diet.

[hugman]

Are you eating other monkeys as well?

One does not consume monkeys on the monkey diet; rather, one replaces what a human "monkey" would eat with what a knuckle dragging monkey would eat! No question is stupid, so don't feel bad for asking.

Did you just watch Surfwise or something, Julie?

[iAmBaronVonTito]

the last two visits to the grocery store ive purchased very minimal food thats packaged.  the majority of the food is fruits, vegetables (which is twice the amount of fruit bought), proteins (unsalted nuts, edemame, etc.), soy/fat-free milks, and all my starch is whole wheat (read those ingredients!).

i live even closer to another location of my gym so life just got easier. 

[hugman]

Don't be afraid of whole milk, actually.  Raw milk is the SHIT, but it's expensive. Some fats are GOOD, necessary even.  Some of the vitamins in all those great veggies are fat-soluble, meaning your body can't absorb them without fat.  
I HIGHLY recommend Dr. Andrew Weil's "Taking Care of Yourself" audiobook. It's very enlightening and also the best resource I've heard that addresses the need for protein with a respect toward vegetarian diets, if that's your slant.
http://tinyurl.com/lhplqs



PS- I do have a fractured elbow. I've gained 5+ pounds in the last two weeks.

[yesno]

Here's an interesting article on that dude.

http://discovermagazine.com/1999/aug/featweil

I have the same general diet as him (pescatarian), except that I drink coffee. But I have a different epistemology.

[Bryan]

I always tease my wife by calling Dr. Weil her "guru" even though I think most of what he's got to say is completely reasonable. It's just that he's got that guru look.

[Bryan]

Here's an interesting article on that dude.

http://discovermagazine.com/1999/aug/featweil

I'm bemused by the dismissive tone of this:

Marcia Angell, executive editor of the New England Journal of Medicine, proclaims that alternative medicine is inferior, but popular because it is user-friendly. “Visits are leisurely, and treatment is gentle. It is also empowering. People are said to heal themselves,” she says. “People assume alternative medicine is better because it feels better to get it.”

Maybe the problem is that most (well, okay: many) allopathic physicians are imperious, arrogant assholes who can't be bothered to take the time to listen to their patients, or talk to them about their overall health? Is this what she's saying? Because it kind of sounds like she's criticizing the naturopathic types for being all nicey.

[yesno]

I agree with nearly all of the criticisms of medicine that the Weil-types make and which you point out.

However, I also agree with the criticisms that mainstream doctors make of alternative medicine types.  This is an article I read on the topic recently:

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/e2772e34-45a0-11de-b6c8-00144feabdc0.html

It's definitely unfair to lump people like Weil in with crap like homeopathy.  Nevertheless, I don't accept that there is very much worth knowing in medicine that can't be either proved or disproved with a carefully-designed double-blind study.  Science is a process, not a body of knowledge, and I am automatically suspicious of people who seem to be pushing a non-falsifiable belief system (in realms other than ethics, etc).

Actually, here's a pretty good thing I read today in the Times about how the stuff that is peddled about the supposed health benefits of moderate drinking is being attacked by scientists not on the payroll of alcohol companies:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/16/health/16alco.html

Which is what I like about science:  it corrects itself.  Everything worthwhile in integrative medicine will be assimilated by us materialist pigs.

[Bryan]

Oh yeah - I'm a skeptic when it comes to anything even vaguely new age. But after much coaxing, I've started seeing an acupuncturist for chronic migraines, and the experience is shockingly different than seeing an M.D. - which is to say, it's pleasant. And it seems to be helping, though it's in no way as dramatic as the meds I also take.

I'm with you when it comes to favoring science over mysticism.