It’s Hard Because It’s Rigged

Welcome back to the LenDentonThrive Letter. This is where I write every week about the ThriveLife - my food-first, gym-optional approach to help you lose weight, get fit, and stay fit for life! The ThriveLife is my Forever-Fit operating system!

This week, I want to talk about why it seems so hard for guys to lose weight and get fit. 

Why do I think it's hard for guys to lose weight and get fit?

It’s simple. Just look at the numbers. American guys are more overweight and obese than ever before. Obesity rates have tripled since the 1960s! And, it's getting worse every year!

This is happening even though we know more about health and nutrition than ever before. Today, we have more gyms and health clubs than ever. And, we have the highest per capita spending on health care on the planet.  But, as the world's biggest healthcare spender, we rank only 10th in overall healthiness. 

Maybe it’s not you!

It’s Hard Because It’s Rigged

Frankly, I don’t think it's you. 

I think most American men find themselves going along with the flow. We’re busy with work and families, and too many things to do. 

We’re focused on everything but our health. 

And, in doing so, we’ve fallen into a set of profit-based systems that are slowly draining our wallets as they shorten our lives. 

To make my point, I want to talk about three specific systems: our food, our fitness approach, and our healthcare. These three systems are rigged, and not in your favor. 

Food

One of the biggest changes in the life of the average American man since 1960 is the food we eat. Today’s typical diet would be almost unrecognizable to your grandfather. The biggest difference is the prevalence of ultra-processed foods (UPFs). These are things like fast foods, frozen dinners, sugary drinks, and similar convenience foods. Today, the average American adult gets half of their calories from ultra-processed foods. For youngsters under the age of 18, that number jumps to 62%! (This means even higher obesity rates in the future!) 

Today, most Americans don’t eat normal food. They’re eating food products, engineered in labs and produced in factories, not farms. These food products are inexpensive, tasty, and addictive. And, high in calories and hidden additives that are driving the obesity epidemic we’re currently seeing. This higher obesity rate is driving the ever-increasing rates of heart disease, diabetes, and cancer. 

So, the Standard American Diet is slowly making us fatter and less healthy every year. 

We need a better approach to our nutrition.

Fitness Approach 

We’re living in a time of muscles-over-fitness. Popular culture constantly promotes muscles as the ultimate expression of fitness. This Muscles-First approach is driven by a multi-billion-dollar fitness industry that makes its money from monthly gym memberships. 

Let me be clear - muscles are nice and even essential. But they are not the only way (or the best way) to become and remain fit. 

Building muscle is hard work. It takes time and lots of self-discipline. Typically, more than most guys have to spare. So, most gym memberships go unused. The failure rates of most gym-based fitness programs are greater than 50%. 

And, the statistics show the outcomes. The fitness industry is growing year-over-year, even as the obesity rate goes up every year. 

It’s apparent that more fitness clubs do not equal more fitness! 

We need a better way to build lasting fitness.

Healthcare, Inc. 

The American healthcare system is dominated by the pharmaceutical industry. Not surprisingly, America is the most medicated nation in the world.  Our healthcare system is more focused on fixing diseases than promoting health and fitness. 

Our collective knowledge of health and well-being increases every year. Yet, we still see the increasing incidence of obesity and obesity-related diseases year-over-year. More and more healthcare spending, yet we are less fit and healthy than ever!

For this reason, I believe your personal health and fitness is a Do-It-Yourself (DIY) project. This is not intended as a complaint against doctors. They are smart, caring professionals. I love my doctor. But their focus is to fix us when we are sick or broken. Not to help us stay fit and healthy. 

Personal fitness is a DIY project. You have to be the Boss. So, take charge.

Create A Fitness Operating System

The world we are living in is designed to profit off of you, not to keep you healthy! That’s why it seems so hard to lose weight, get fit, and stay fit. And if you just go with the flow, the outcome you’ll get is less health and fitness - not more!

But, you can change course to a healthier life. You just need to get out of the flow. And, doing that is easier than you think.

It’s not about having massive amounts of self-discipline or motivation. 

It’s about habits. 

Our habits describe and define us. We are exactly who our habits say we are. 

And, we can choose our habits! 

It works like this…we choose our habits. Then, our habits make us!

If you choose carefully, those habits become a permanent fitness operating system that will reshape your life. 

Thirteen years ago, I quit the gym and started building my own fitness operating system. I call it my ThriveLife. It helped me lose 70 pounds in 7 months without crazy diets or killer workouts. It’s still working for me today.

You can do it, too. To learn where to get a quick start on building your Thrivelife, check here and here.

Smarter, Not Harder

Remember, sustainable health and fitness is not about sheer willpower or perfection. It’s about consistency and making smarter choices. You don’t need crazy diets or killer workouts. Your ThriveLife is built on a few smart daily habits that fit into your life and that you’ll actually enjoy doing. 

Here are two ways I can help you build your own ThriveLife:

1 - Subscribe to the LDT Letter for weekly tips and strategies

2 - Join the wait list for my upcoming new book ThriveLife Transformation, where I’ll show you how to build a healthier version of YOU with 6 Smart Daily Habits that you can do in 30 minutes a day. 

To join the waitlist, just reply to this newsletter and say “Sign me up!” I’ll send you an email when the book is available.

Thanks for reading today.

And remember, God loves us. He wants us to thrive. So, let’s do this together!

All the best… Len

Healthy dads raise healthy families!

My mission is to help 1 million men raise healthy families for the Kingdom of God. So, I write this newsletter to make a positive impact on the lives of men and their families. If you found this information useful, please consider subscribing to receive new editions each week. And, please share this with friends or family that would benefit from the ThriveLife!

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