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It’s The Food, Dude!

Hey Brothers!

Welcome to the LenDentonThrive Letter!

I’m on a mission to help guys over the age of 50 get lighter, stronger, and live longer. We do that by building healthy, sustainable lifestyles. I call it the ThriveLife! And, I write this newsletter to share strategies and tips to help you build your own, custom ThriveLife.

I write about food a lot in this newsletter. And, I do that unapologetically. Food is such a big part of our lives. And, it’s also a very big problem for a lot of Over-50 Guys. So, let’s get into it!

I’m going to begin by making a bold statement. Here goes:

If you’re overweight, its not entirely your fault! 

As you already know, I believe that your health and fitness is entirely your responsibility. But, the fact that you’re currently overweight isn’t 100% your fault.

That’s because you’ve had a lot of help! Some very sophisticated, behind the scenes, unwanted  help in becoming overweight!

I’m talking about our industrialized food manufacturers. These are the producers of America’s favorite convenience and packaged foods that we consume in increasing amounts every year. And, as our consumption rates of these factory foods go up, so do our rates of obesity, heart disease, diabetes, cancer and dementia. It’s all interconnected.

In a recent edition, I compared the average American male from 1960 to his modern counterpart from 2023. Here’s that comparison:

In approximately 60 years, the average American male is a whopping 33 lbs. heavier than his grandfather was. This is all because of the Standard American Diet (SAD) that I’ve written about here.  

So, what has changed over the last 60 years that has driven this radical change in our weight and its impacts on our health? There are primarily three factors that are driving this change in our eating habits, which is dramatically changing our health.

First, we are more sedentary than the 1960s Man. More of us have “desk jobs” than our grandfathers did. We’re not getting as much physical activity.

Second, we are consuming more calories on a daily basis than we did in 1960. This is partly due to the increase in portion sizes, which have grown substantially over the years. We also tend to eat out more often. The increased availability of fast foods is also increasing the daily calorie count.

Third, and most importantly, we’ve moved our food sources from the farm to the factory. The majory of the average American diet is no longer based on whole, single ingredient foods produced on farms. Today, we are eating mostly manufactured, highly processed foods produced in food factories. 

Recent research from Northeastern University’s Network Science Institute indicates that 73 percent of the United States food supply is ultra-processed. 

The chart below is from a 2016 Pew Research Center article revealing how the American diet has shifted from 1970 to 2010.

The most noticeable change in the chart is the big increase in the number of calories we get from grain products and fats and oils. This change is due to the increasing consumption of ultra-processed foods. And, this change is continuing and accelerating today!

Now, remember earlier that I mentioned you were getting unseen and unwanted help in becoming overweight. That help comes from the food manufacturers, who employ armies of food scientists, nutritionists and dieticians. These smart folks are all working for the company to make their foods cheaper and tastier. And, in order to do that, they are adding extra oils and sweeteners that drive up the calories per serving. And, once we consume these ultra-processed foods, they drive our metabolisms beyond their healthy limits. We see the results in the dramatic increases in obesity and its associated diseases.

Ultra-processed foods are everywhere. They’re our favorite convenience and fast foods. They are the sugary sodas and lattes we drink every day. They are the “boxes and brands” that we’re familiar with, and probably grew up eating.

And, they are all slowly killing us!

They are making us fatter, more diseased and shorter-lived. America is one of the wealthiest nations on Earth, yet we rank 47th in life expectancy! 

But, it doesn’t have to be this way!

We don’t have to accept this new American normal where the majority of people you see are overweight. 

You can make a change.

If you can change the way you think about food, you can change the way you look, the way you feel and how long you’ll live! 

We need to reject the Standard American Diet! It’s time to reject factory food and choose foods grown on real farms. Real meats, fruits and vegetables instead of foods delivered in branded boxes and microwaveable cartons. 

I call this Eating Smarter, and it changed my life. 

Ten years ago, I changed the way I eat. I didn’t diet. I didn’t worry about calories. I just chose the good farm foods I mentioned above. I ate as much as I wanted. And, I lost 70 pounds in 7 months!

Ten years later, I’m still Eating Smarter, and I am still 70 pounds lighter. 

You can do this, too! 

If you’d like to learn more about Eating Smarter, read this.

And to give you a quick summary of what Eating Smarter is all about, check out my Too-Busy Guy’s Guide to Eating Smarter below.

Change your diet…change your life.

Thanks for stopping by!

Thanks for reading this week.

I write this newsletter to make a positive impact on the lives of Over-50 Guys and their families. If you found this information useful, please consider subscribing to receive new editions each week.

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