Author: armstrong.wou@gmail.com

“The overfat condition is defined as excess body fat sufficient to impair health. The problem exists in most overweight and obese individuals and can also occur in those who are normal-weight and non-obese, often due to excess abdominal fat. Despite previous indications that the prevalence overweight and obesity is leveling, these conditions are currently at their highest levels in US history” (Maffetone & Laursen, 2017).

Undoubtedly, many Americans are looking to repair the damage done (to their body compositions) over the Thanksgiving Holiday. The word “diet” is likely being spoken with some distain. “Diet”, however, is not a verb—we are not dieting. We eat a particular diet (e.g., “the Mediterranean diet”). Our diet is eucaloric, hypercaloric, or hypocaloric (meaning that we are eating calories sufficient to maintain weight, gain weight, or lose weight, respectively). The content of those calories is of lesser importance than the quantity of those calories (albeit still of some importance—especially for health and performance).

I had long been of the understanding that roughly two-thirds of Americans are overfat or obese. My son recently looked it up and corrected me that it is closer to three-quarters (75%). Maffetone and Laursen (2017) proposes that the percentage of Americans that are overfat  is more like “91% for adults and 69% for children.” (These data are pre-Covid which might suggest that they are even higher in 2022.) The researchers define overfat as “excess body fat associated with at least one additional risk factor of impaired cardiometabolic or physical health.” As such, one may not argue that these are numbers tabulated from body mass index (BMI; body weight in kilograms divided by the height in meters-squared). This suggests that even individuals who are non-obese or of normal weight can have excess abdominal fat.

It would seem clear that the American diet and the obsession with “dieting” is having a negative impact on the health of the American people. As we are amid the holiday season and approaching the start of a new year when Americans resolve to “lose weight” and “get fit”, let’s consider how we got to the point of being overfat, under-muscled, and dangerously unhealthy. Let’s reconsider how we typically approach “getting back in shape” and change our habits and create new habits with longevity and health in mind. Let’s make permanent rather than temporary changes. Let’s consider this not as a personal crisis (as a cosmetic issue). Rather let us address this as a societal issue—as an issue of public health.

Be your best today; be better tomorrow.

Carpe momento!!

Maffetone, P.B. and Laursen, P.B. (2017). The prevalence of overfat adults and children in the US. Frontiers in Public Health, 5:290. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2017.00290

“As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.”—John F. Kennedy

It is Thanksgiving week. As Americans, we prepare to gather on Thursday in celebration. Sadly, it is often a celebration of habit—of mere tradition. Perhaps, this year, we can take the time to be introspective and consider our grattitude (gratitude + attitude). Perhaps, we can examine the good, the bad, the challenging—the wins and the losses–in our lives with grateful thanksgiving. Let it be an opportunity to not only look back but to rejoice in the moment and to look forward. Be grateful for all that has brought us to this very moment in our lives and in our Purpose.

Be your best today; be better tomorrow.

Carpe momento!!

Last night, my high school senior wrestled his first match in the 285 lb class (he weighed in less than 220). He fell in his first two matches because of technical errors. He made mistakes. He learned from them. He knows he has a learning curve (and, unfortunately, there is no one in the room heavier than him or even close to his weight). He failed trying. That is how we learn and how we get better. I was a proud father last night (as I am always).

Growth comes with experiences that challenge us. In exercise physiology, we refer to the “overload principle” (for a body system to adapt, it must be challenged to a level greater than that to which it is accustomed). Well-centered growth (Spiritual, Intellectual, Emotional, and Social, as well as Physical) is no different. We cannot grow (become our better self) without adversity–without challenge–without failure. Dare to fail forward toward you better self.

Be your best today; be better tomorrow.

Carpe momento!

“Gratitude is the healthiest of all human emotions.”—Zig Ziglar

I need a constant reminder to check my grattitude (gratitude + attitude). I am blessed and grateful but grattitude goes beyond mere gratefulness. It is an attitude of gratitude—a sense of gratefulness even for the experiences that are less than favorable. It is the recognition that sometimes “it happens” (Forrest Gump) to good people for good reasons. Grattitude is feeling blessed in all circumstances—not because we see the result of what is happening in this moment but because we see what we are (and what we are becoming) because of all the “it” that has happened to us in our past. What we do with our circumstances is our choice. Grattitude also recognizes that we are not the center of the Universe and that our lives and choices impact others beyond our comprehension. So, note to self: “Be grateful in this moment for the past, the present, and the future.”

“Develop an attitude of gratitude, and give thanks for everything that happens to you, knowing that every step forward is a step toward achieving something bigger and better than your current situation.”—Brian Tracy

Be your best today; be better tomorrow.

Carpe momento!

“Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world” (James 1:27)

When people ask if I am religious, I must do a lot of soul searching before I can answer. I want the answer to be “yes” but…. It is easy to say “I am a person of faith” but does that faith manifest as action? Because I go to church, I am not religious. Perhaps, only those with whom I interact on a regular basis are the only ones who know?

Be your best today; be better tomorrow.

Carpe momento!

“Man is made or unmade by himself. By the right choice he ascends. As a being of power, intelligence, and love, and the lord of his own thoughts, he holds the key to every situation.”—James Allen

We are the product of our circumstances, but only to the extent to which we determine they will make or break us. We hold the key.

Be your best today; be better tomorrow.

Carpe momento!

“Our visions are the plans of the possible life structure, but they will end in plans if we do not follow them up with a vigorous effort to make them real, just as the architect’s plans will end in his drawings if they are not followed up and made real by the builder.”—Orison Swett Marden

“Execution” is an interesting word. If can suggest completion or termination. When it comes to the execution of one’s goals and vision, it is one’s decisions that determines the outcome.

Be your best today; be better tomorrow.

Carpe momento!

“It is hard to fail but it is worse never to have tried to succeed.”—Theodore Roosevelt

Taking a different spin on the word “hard”, I would contend that it is hard to fail when we don’t try. In other words, inaction breeds neither failure nor success. It just forever stalls us in the same place. The bold and ultimately successful dare to fail. They embrace failure as a lesson to guide them toward success. Failure is inevitable if one truly desires to succeed beyond reasonable expectation. But as Vince Lombardi said:

“Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection, we can catch excellence.”

Be your best today; be better tomorrow.

Carpe momento!!

“The 1st period is won by the best technician. The 2nd period is won by the kid in the best shape. The 3rd period is won by the kid with the biggest heart.”—Dan Gable

I have been blessed with the opportunity to coach strength and conditioning for the last four months for my son’s high school wrestling team. Minus the football players who have been in their preseason/in-season training, the bulk of the participants have been the younger wrestlers and those one might consider more the “underdogs.” They are not the more seasoned (perhaps “elite”) on the team—the “best technicians.” Some of these, in fact, have even given me a sense of scoff. The kids who have shown up are those who are likely going to see much more improvement in their technique this season and will start the season winning the 2nd period. They have worked hard, and it shows. They have trusted the process and it is notable.

Preparation is essential to success. Some see a level of success trusting in their genetics and technical practice. Most see no success because they lack the natural endowment and the will to try. Some surprise is because they focus on the fundamentals and develop their ordinary genetics to do (extra)ordinary things.

In the end, it will come down to heart. Practice and conditioning will get us through the first two period, but, in the end, it is all about heart.

Life is no different. Therefore, Dan Gable also said that “once you’ve wrestled, everything else in life is easy.” Gable set the bar for effort in wrestling. Few have conditioned more than he did (and continues to do). He set high expectations for his wrestler. We may not wrestle (or have wrestled), but we can have the work ethic and heart of a successful wrestler.

Be your best today; be better tomorrow.

Carpe momento!

“Don’t let yourself stagnate or reach a plateau. Keep learning, keep improving. Be open to change. Your ability to constantly raise the bar higher and set standards will help you evolve and take you to the next level.”—Dr. Rooplean

Raise the bar above your expectations. This is the difference between ordinary and (extra)ordinary. No matter one’s station in life—one’s occupation—one’s current situation—there is opportunity for change—for evolution.

Set goals that are just beyond your reach and stretch yourself. Success is not measured by comparison to others. True success is measured by the extent to which we take what we have and use it for the fulfillment of our Purpose. Success comes when we make the ordinary (extra)ordinary. Unfortunately, for most of us, we don’t see this. We compare ourselves to others and see ourselves as “failures.” Instead, it might be the one—gifted with physical talent, opportunity, and support—who has fallen short of their Purpose and “missed the bar.” The one who lives an otherwise ordinary life in an (extra)ordinary way is, indeed, the true success. Add value to your world (and, hence, the world) and you will leave a legacy.

Make success personal. Always….

Be your best today; be better tomorrow.

Carpe momento!!