The 21st-century technological progress will undoubtedly continue to change the way we work, live, and survive in the coming decades. The conveniences of new technology, such as the smartphone, have made their way into almost all day-to-day practices that were once done without. It is interesting to see an entire generation function so effortlessly around one device; without any second thought, it has been woven into the fabric of society. It is no longer a device carried only by the “on-call” personnel.
The beauty of it is the simplicity of having an all-in-one device containing many valuable applications. There is no need to name them all, but here are a few: phones, GPS, search engines, music, and the list can go on and on. There is a trade-off to owning such a device; as in all tremendous technological advances, research has shown, it has slowed down our thinking processes. As a result, we have difficulty controlling attention, inefficient access to stored knowledge and skills, or breakdowns in the systems that support organized thinking and processing.
How has our attention shifted from a healthy lifestyle?
I remember when my memory held all the important phone numbers, and a personal phone book had the rest. When I would write down directions and after a few times taking the route, viola, they were memorized. This device near us almost daily has taken over our thinking, self-reliance, and the internal barometer that guides us.
A smartphone can tax its user’s cognition simply by sitting next to them on a table or anywhere in the same room, recently written in the Journal of the Association for Consumer Research. It finds that a smartphone can demand its user’s attention even when they aren’t using it or consciously thinking about it. There is a two-fold consequence to having such a convenient device in our hands; it slows down our thinking process and demands our attention. Our attention shifted from one area of our lives to another; we have become consumed with the influences and influencers and become stationary in our minds, and as someone once said, where the mind goes, the body follows.
Why has health declined?
Our health has been declining for the last three decades and could be traced back to its original origin, the popularization of the fast-food industry. Today we are more physically stationary than in previous civilizations, and our minds have become fixed. Fitness influencers have been glamorized and popularized since the early 2000s, becoming the new Hollywood. Most people don’t see that the underlying truth of this gladiator physics may not always be as healthy as we think. We watch their everyday lives, salivating at how extraordinary their lives must be, working out all day, counting macros, sponsored by the latest gym apparel company. I guess I speak to the youngsters on this, as we seasoned veterans know it’s not real, or do we?
How have we complicated fitness?
I had taken health and fitness seriously for the last 12 years, consistently training five days a week, and eating whole, nutritious foods. Completely changing the landscape of my destiny, I no longer ate what I wanted when I wanted; I took control of my health. It was earned, not given; it was no longer genetic it was something I could attain.
Sometime later, I gave up my ability to think, reason, and research. I handed this over to the Instagram Czars. I stepped into the bodybuilding world and spent every waking hour pursuing a shredded body. Little did I know there was a considerable price to pay and a big piece of the “truth” puzzle I had missed; none of the fitness influencers will ever tell you they take performance enhancers (not all, of course). They will tell you every single meal and workout they do but leave out the small detail of the enhancements. You will have to figure this out for yourself.
This has nothing to do with the delivered content but rather my blind consumption. I complicated what was intended to be simplified without noticing the change in my thinking. As the old saying goes, don’t hate the player. Hate the game.
The Influence of Social Media
John Lanier, an American computer scientist, has this to say about the influence of social media and what it does to our thinking – “It’s the gradual, slight, imperceptible change in your behavior and perception that is the product. That’s the only thing there is for them to make money from. Changing what you do, how you think, who you are.”
Bringing this full circle, I should have listened to that inner barometer that we all have; I would have known I was not balanced and had lost the entire meaning of health and fitness. Health and fitness are best when the whole body is in tune; it does not have to be complicated. Stressing over how we look is a stressor, and obsessing is a stressor. Almost everything in life can be simplified! ”In proportion, as he simplifies his life, the laws of the universe will appear less complex.” ~Henry David Thoreau’s.
How can we simplify fitness?
We have everything we need to be healthy and fit; all the knowledge and resources are at our figure tips. Here are some practical questions we could ask ourselves: How do we feel, eat, look, and exercise? If we don’t feel good, we are not good; this is our cue that something needs to change, and we have the power to do that. The significant part of health and fitness is one of the few areas we can control and create. Food in its simplest form is the healthiest; look at that even nature itself has brought to light, simple it is better!
“If man made it, stay away from it.” ~Jack Lalanne. Processed foods will keep us hungry and unsatisfied, returning for more; these are best consumed in moderation.
About 330 billion cells are replaced daily, equivalent to about 1 percent of all our cells. In 80 to 100 days, 30 trillion will have replenished—the equivalent of a new you. Food is fuel for our bodies and the building blocks of our cells. “Garbage in, garbage out” ~ George Fuechsel
Obesity increases the risk of several debilitating and deadly diseases, including diabetes, heart disease, and some cancers. It does this through various pathways, some as straightforward as the mechanical stress of carrying extra pounds and some involving complex changes in hormones and metabolism.
Jack LaLanne revolutionized fitness by advocating weight training for women, but he didn’t stop there. He insisted that exercise was for everyone, from the disabled to the elderly. “The only way you can hurt the body is not to use it,” he liked to say. “Inactivity is the killer, and remember, it’s never too late.
Final Thoughts
Exercise has been wildly exaggerated and complicated over the years; our daily activities can be a form of exercise as in the early days. Walk rather than drive, play with our kiddos, do housekeeping, and use the stairs rather than the elevator. Start a new hobby, gardening or mowing the lawn; these tasks can be enjoyed with the right mindset. Learn the fundamentals of food and incorporate daily exercise; the rest is extra, and keep it simple for mental bandwidth.
Photo by Bruno Nascimento