Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Eat the Rich


198.2 lbs

Oh no! Something new! I have never ever had an up tick this early into a week. I know what caused it, stupid ibuprofen - lots of it. I have a pulled muscle in my chest and it hurt like heck yesterday. It is still a little sore today. If you want to really scare the living hell out of yourself I strongly suggest starting the day with a sharp pain in the middle of your chest. I was in full freak out mode until I realized that it hurt when I pushed something or pulled something with my left arm. Basically, the muscle was pulled where it attached to the breast bone. I am not sure if it is chondritis which is basically a problem with connective tissue in that region since this seems to be going away. Damn if it didn't hurt and make me want to run to an E.R. at 6:30am in the morning. After I figured out it was not some problem with the most important organ in my body, I was a little better. An ice pack my wife made and some rest did wonders. I am not a huge fan of ibuprofen at the moment. I took at least 1000mg yesterday and it did nada.

Now if I were rich man (cue Fiddler on the Roof music), I could have simply called up my private physician and he would have walked me through a self diagnostic. I don't have that luxury and most of the people I know, don't have that luxury. To be fair, most of us have at least some basic access to medical care. What we don't have and what delineates us from the rich, is the money and resources that allow access to personalized physical regimens and specialized diers. If you want to be healthy and thin, all you have to do is pay the price. That doesn't sit right with me. It also does not sit well with my chef or personal trainer. Oh I know what you are saying! Oh he can afford a chef and personal trainer - the bastard! But you have to understand, they work very cheap. They are me. I always knew there would be perks to having a split personality disorder.

Okay, I don't really have a split personality disorder yet (a man must have his goals) but I do take care of myself by myself. I can assure you, that was not always the case. I realized all it took was a little discipline and some reading. You can do it too. No matter what the diet and exercise industry tells you, you don't need a personal trainer or a private chef or a home pilates master, you just need you.

Now having said all that, there is a distinct advantage the rich have that is an intangible. They can push responsibility off to someone else at certain points. They also can have outside motivation for a price. Want to lose weight? Just dial up Henri and he will make sure you eat a healthy meal. Feel a little flabby? Jillian will be there to slap your fat ass around the gym. Speaking of healthy meals, that is also another advantage, they can afford to eat healthy. But everyone can afford to eat healthy, we just do not have the personal will or discipline to take that extra time from watching the Oprah network to cook or prepare something that doesn't have 20 mysterious chemical names in the ingredients. Processed food will make you fat - that's the facts Jack.

What about my flabby ass? Well, you can also be your own personal trainer and set goals and map out and organize how you will get there. All it takes is just a few organizational skills which can be easily acquired and, of course, the D word - DISCIPLINE.

So I keep using the D word. Do rich people have more of it than others? I really don't think so. Now those from wealthy families have always eaten well and have been involved in a lot of activities since birth. The same can not be said about the poor and middle class in our nation. There is a whole different mindset that tells us that Little Debbies are a wholesome snack. Our go-to eating establishments aren't some place that serves lean beef and veggies, they are fast food joints that serve crap and they are more ubiquitous than traffic lights.

I personally think, with a little work in this land of plenty, we could all eat like we are rich. In a land where a dozen eggs are $1.50 and ten snack cakes are $1.99, it's just a matter of choice. Christy and I were walking through the 99 Cents store one day and we both came to a realization - you can eat pretty well in America for very little. There were fresh veggies and whole grain breads and, hell, they even had supplements. The rich might not have to work hard for their good health but with just a little extra work on our parts we can eat and exercise just as well as they do.

In the end, all I know is that when the big one comes and we are all reduced to cannabilism, I am hitting the rich section of town because I bet they are all tastier and a whole helluva lot better for me. Lean meat - yum!


Listen to my boy Lemmy, tell you all about it.



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