Sedition by Self-Care: The Heretic's Guide to Fitness

I'm fortunate enough to call sunny Pensacola Beach, Florida my home. An idyllic island Paradise and globally renowned tourist destination, owing to its pristine, white-sand beaches and calm turquoise waters. But there's a hidden feature that many don't discover until they arrive; although it hosts an abundance of restaurants, everything from fine-dining and fusion cuisine to family-friendly casuals, Pensacola Beach has a whopping total of zero drive-thru establishments, and fast-food chains are just shy of nonexistent on the Island.

First-time tourists often find them conspicuous by their absence when they're looking for a place to feed the kiddos on the cheap. Being a hermit, I hardly even notice anymore - I was only reminded of this fact very recently, during a journey out-of-state to visit Papa Kame (my dad) for the weekend. During the five-hour drive to his home, across the interstate and through small towns and major cities, I allowed my mind to wander and indulged my inner Conspiracy Theorist as the car passed billboard after billboard...after billboard...after billboard, pointing the way to the nearest burger joint.

In the arena of health and fitness, I'm considered something of a renegade. I prefer the act of creation to consumption - left to my own devices, I enjoy cooking and grilling meals at home, traveling light and under my own power, when indeed I have to travel at all. But that said, I definitely don't see the harm in an occasional indulgence, even a deep-fried one. Comfort food isn't ideal for the Body, but it can certainly nourish the Spirit, as long as it's enjoyed in moderation; what everyone's childhood friend, The Cookie Monster, once famously described as "a sometimes food."

The Big Fat Conspiracy

The subject has definitely been touched upon before, but one of the luxuries of being a Coach is occasionally enjoying the privilege of telling people what they already know. Assuming that you live in an industrialized, relatively prosperous nation, it's an inconvenient truth - something we're all subtly cognizant of but choose not to dwell on.

A fit, self-reliant society is BAD FOR BUSINESS.

• Fast-food companies spend billions on advertising every year and advertise across all forms of consumable media.

• 91% of fast-food ads are TV commercials, often strategically placed in timeslots to be viewed by children and teens.

• 80% of advertisements are for unhealthy food and beverages (fast food, sugary drinks, candy and snacks.)

• Exposure to TV fast-food ads increases the likelihood of fast-food consumption by 30%.

In the U.S., obesity is an epidemic; that's not exactly "news." The comorbidities associated with obesity (hypertension, type II diabetes, sleep disorders, various forms of heart disease) can in most cases be prevented, managed, or reversed by adopting a healthy lifestyle. Added to that, reports indicate that the annual medical costs for adults with obesity are (and this is a conservative estimate) 100% higher than adults in a normal weight range, with costs increasing to over 200% in morbidly obese adult populations.

Short version: A healthy lifestyle is expensive. So is an unhealthy lifestyle.

Here's where the virtue of self-reliance comes into play; I've never considered myself paranoid or alarmist. Just fiercely independent. And independence is something that the modern world abhors. Pause and consider:

• Fast-food and snack-food companies make (and spend) exorbitant sums of money designing and tailoring their products to be not just highly palatable but literally addictive; intentionally seeking out the "bliss point" - that perfect Golden Ratio of salty, fatty, and sweet that triggers euphoria in human taste buds. Research shows that sugary treats light up the very same pleasure-centers in the human brain as cocaine (I seriously wish I were making this up.)

• The private health-care system and pharmaceutical companies draw enormous profits annually through treating and managing the health issues traditionally associated with obesity, most of which are preventable.

• Commercial gyms and social-media fitness gurus are actively banking on their consumers never reaching a point of self-reliance; offering "get-fit-quick" solutions and miracle cures in exchange for your hard-earned cash.

Simply put, the world at large has nothing to gain, and much to lose, from YOU being healthy.

If that idea makes you angry...well, it should. It made me angry, too.

I'll just leave this here.

You Call It "Fitness." I Call It "Sticking It to The Man."

This was the very realization that led me to found Kame Fitness, and to dedicate my life to educating and transforming others. In a world that profits heavily from keeping you unhealthy, a healthy lifestyle is an act of rebellion.

Every time you choose a well-balanced, home-cooked meal over a 2,000-calorie "Value Meal," a certain world-famous clown sheds a tear. Every time you walk to work, a millionaire heart surgeon has to wait that much longer to buy his new Tesla.

Every time a smoker throws his last pack in the trash and quits for good, a sleazy Big Tobacco lobbyist re-examines his direction in life. Together, through peaceful, good-natured acts of defiance, we can change the world.

We're not all rebels and iconoclasts at heart. Ninety-nice percent of us are decent, simple folks just trying to get by in an unfair world. But within all of us lurks that mischievous streak, that sinister little urge to buck The System. Properly channeled, it can be an incredible force for good, and a powerful instrument of change.

Go use it. And along the way, inspire a few others to do the same. I believe in you. - Coach K.