In praise of sloth and over indulgence!

Ok, well I’ll admit to being a “tad” overweight, an addiction to Pepsi and a taste for cheesecake adding to my girth. I get occasional exercise, should get more and probably should get a better grip on my cholesterol. I don’t smoke and drink mainly a beer or two on occasion, other than that no real vices. For the most part our meals cover the useful food groups and I don’t exactly pig out on the portions, none the less I am not unaware that I need to re-educate myself on healthy choice options.

But with that all said. I find it of interest to note that two of the healthy lifestyle gurus of our time, have gone on to their reward. And I’m still around, in some shape and form, (mostly pearish at the moment!)

First off there was Dr. Atkins, the guy who has us forsaking carbs and loading up on protein, or is it the other way, I’m never really sure. I haven’t actually explored his regimen completely to worry about it. The founder of the Atkins diet products passed away last year, of complications from a slip on a sidewalk. Now at 72 he lived a pretty good life, and slipping on an icy sidewalk does seem like a bad fate for a health guru. But at the time of his passing there were those troubling reports of a rather unhealthy state of health. Weighing 258 pounds at six feet he would be clinically described as obese. He also suffered from a heart condition, caused by a viral infection. None of which were related apparently to his dieting philosophies or products, but certainly don’t help in the image of a long term lifestyle change.

Now over the weekend we have demise of Brian Maxwell, creator of the PowerBar, that chocolate bar like product that gives you instant energy, adding some protein and helping to replace or reduce your carbs, enabling you to burn off the weight and keep on going. Over the last year or so, the PowerBar folks have been moving towards the general nutrition area and away from the performance aspect of our lives. Finding a niche in the current healthy lifestyle craze. Mr. Maxwell passed away at the age of 51, while in a Post Office in California, suffering a heart attack from which he could not be revived.

Not too far away from Mr. Maxwell’s age, I now have to weigh the options of an improved lifestyle against the delights of the foods not particularly good for me. Even if I’m wolfing down the PowerBars and Atkin’s products is there any real guarantee that my lifespan is going to be increased exponentially? If the guru’s themselves meet the maker, despite their best efforts, then perhaps it’s all just inevitable anyways.

So maybe I’ll just load up the plate, two servings of cheesecake and a vat of Pepsi to Go! Some carrot sticks and celery sticks to add some counter balance. And later, if it’s not raining, maybe I’ll go for a walk. If we all have to go sometime, may as well go on a full stomach!