Solutions in the mirror may be closer than they appear.

The scope and scale of our national health crisis is so massive that it may seem beyond all hope. But it is not.

In fact, each of us has an important role to play in solving these problems for ourselves, and for each other.

Every time one of us starts taking the steps necessary to build and protect our health, we rescind our support of the nasty systems that are breaking millions of us down.

And if enough of us start treating our own bodies well, we will create new norms of vitality and well-being. 

If we band together to demand and embrace healthier options - in our grocery stores, cafeterias, homes, workplaces, schools, healthcare centers, neighborhoods - we can reverse the trends that have been depleting our life force for decades.

Most of the trends and public policies responsible for our country's ill health have occured over the past 40 years - in large part, by design. And they can be turned around in a fraction of that time by a swell of grass-roots insistence.

So if you can help make that happen, do. Connect with others who share your healthy convictions. Then go boldly forth and start thriving - one conscious thought, one empowering choice, one revolutionary act at a time. 

(text from http://revolutionaryact.com/ ) 

This is the last entry from the manifesto from revolutionaryact.com. It was meant for you to really think about the state of our nation, how you eat, how you feed your family, your activity level and theirs. 

I had planned to post this last entry today and was thinking of final thoughts when I saw this in my inbox... The only food rule that really matters

SET. YOUR. PERSONAL. STANDARDS. HIGHER!

It's not so hard, but we complicate it. Our culture has decided that cheap and convenient is fine when it comes to food, but unacceptable when it comes to the cars we buy or the shoes we wear. We try our best to recycle our soda cans and be conscious of our environment, but forsake our bodies.

When it comes to what we eat, the first thing read is the price, next is the calories, and, finally, microwave heating instructions. But how often do any of us look at the ingredients, research the sources, and really make ourselves fully informed on where the food comes from and how it's raised or grown? And while we're bragging about the vegan or paleo or whatever lifestyle we've chosen, have we considered the cultural histories that allowed peoples past (you know, those who would find our debates about things like Obamacare strange signs of an unhealthy time?) to be healthier than our modern civilization is proving to be? 

The solution is simple: decide you deserve better and eat accordingly. Invest in your food, both in time and in money. Decide for yourself what your standards are, then eat that way, choosing a variety of real, nutrient-rich food, and keeping a strong focus on really, REALLY enjoying it.

 

Forget about Quick Fixes

No magic diet, powder, pill or elixir is going to solve the problems we're wrestling with now. And forking over cash for quick fixes only lines the pockets of the quick-fix hucksters who helped get us into this mess.

So instead of squandering your valuable time and money on miracle cures, invest in making healthy life changes for the long haul.

If you're having trouble with that, know that you are not alone. You are not a bad, weak, lazy or doomed person - you're just up against some tough opponents.

If you're willing and determined, you can defeat them. Handily.

It may require developing new skills, strategies and perspectives.

It might mean connecting with new support systems and role models.

It could mean nursing some healthy indignation and cultivating some well-deserved self-compassion.

Almost certainly, it will require connecting with your own deepest sources of healthy motivation and stoking them into revolutionary action.

All this takes time and awareness and a willingness to experiment. And there's no better time to start than now.

(text from http://revolutionaryact.com/ )

The Best Defense is a Good Offense.

In the battle for our well-being, the forces of ill health may have won the last few rounds. But we've got some crazy judo moves they aren't expecting.

Like giving up on diets and self-denial, and focusing on nourishing our bodies instead.

Like giving up on spot reducing and calorie counting and finding feel-good ways to get active and fit.

Like investing in healthy foods, stress management and proactive health support now - instead of paying gigantic medical bills later.

The healthier and more clear-headed you are, the better your chances of fending off the unhealthy influences that besiege you on a daily basis.

The stronger and more resilient you are, the better your chances of weathering the challenges that come your way.

And the more of us healthy, happy people there are, the better our shot at creating the kind of world in which thriving comes more easily for everyone.

So don't let your guard down, and don't let anyone convince you to settle for less than full-throttle vitality.

Remain vigilant. Defend your right to be well with unflinching determination and all the mojo you can muster.

(text from http://revolutionaryact.com/ )

Inaction is not an option

The time for passivity is past. Today, nearly every U.S. household is touched by obesity or chronic disease. And most often, when one family member's health is compromised, the whole family suffers.

It's time for that suffering to stop. But simply suppressing symptoms and "managing" diseases is not the answer.

As you read this, approximately 75 percent of our healthcare dollars are being spent ineffectively on chronic conditions, many of which can only be resolved through lifestyle change.

These burdens of chronic illness are simultaneously gutting our economy, our communities, and our whole population's ability to thrive. They're undermining the lives of our children, and the potential of future generations.

It's time to face the reality that unless we're part of the solution, we're part of the problem. And the problem is plenty big already.

None of us can afford to sit this challenge out. None of us deserves to live less than the best, healthiest life at our disposal.

So raise your sights. Raise your standards. Restake your claim to a vital body and mind. And never, ever back down. 

(text from http://revolutionaryact.com/ )

This is NOT about six-pack abs and skinny jeans

Sure. Healthy is sexy and beautiful. A strong, fit body looks as good as it feels. But the most valuable rewards of good health and fitness have very little to do with rippling muscles or thin thighs. 

You'd never know that by looking at conventional media, though.

All those sensationalized headlines, sexy images and instant-results promises may get our attention and appeal to our vanity, but they can also make getting healthy seem like a self-indulgent undertaking or a trivial, out-of-reach fantasy.

Worse, the unrelenting focus on largely unachievable ideals has a way of playing to our body-image insecurities.

Those superficial obsessions can also distract us from the deeper, lasting motivations that matter more. 

So if mass media is messing with your mind or sapping your self-esteem, tune out the hype and turn your attention elsewhere. Like the reasons being healthy matters to you.

Maybe you have your heart set on six-pack abs and buns of steel; maybe not.

Either way, connecting with your own authentic healthy-life vision and values is the best way to start.

(text from http://revolutionaryact.com/ )

You change your world

Being healthy is a revolutionary act. Throwing off the chains of poor health and reclaiming our full vitality is both our individual right and our collective responsibility. And there is perhps no more life-transforming choice.

Being strong and healthy in an unhealthy culture makes you part of an empowered minority. It gives you freedoms and opportunities that poor health and fitness prohibit. It endows you with the energy, clarity and resiliency to fully enjoy your life, and to make bigger, more meaningful contributions in anything you do.

Choosing a healthy way of life involves making some revolutionary choices, and it also has revolutionary results.

Because when you change your health for the better, you change the lives of everyone around you for the better, too.

In a very real way, you change your world.

(text from http://revolutionaryact.com/ )

The resistance is alive and well.

Every day, more and more of us are waking up to the realization that no one is going to save us but us. We're getting clear that if we don't want to get sucked into an unhealthy quagmire, we've got to start swimming against the tide.

So we are learning about our bodies and minds, and doing what it takes to keep them strong and well.

We are growing, buying and preparing more whole, nutritious foods and avoiding processed junk. We are moving and sweating and exploring. We are resting and playing and connecting.

We are reclaiming control of our healthcare choices. We are dealing with the root causes of our health challenges, rather than simply suppressing our symptoms.

In short, we are treating our health like the fundamental priority it is.

We are rising up to take back the power for our own well-being. And we are discovering just how good that feels.

(text from http://revolutionaryact.com/ )