Checkmate

Published September 3, 2020

In chess, checkmate occurs when a player’s king is under attack and has no safe place to go. The king is threatened and every possible escape route is blocked. Such an existential condition, “no exit,” is known as checkmate.

In life, a person may be similarly threatened by a serious illness. For example, a person may receive a diagnosis for which there is no effective long-term treatment. Short-term, temporary solutions may be available, but these usually require enormous expenditures of resources, both financial and personal. Most often, when the temporary fix has run its course, the illness persists and the long-term outlook remains the same. Optimally, we would prefer to avoid such medical “checks” and avoid being faced with an untimely “checkmate.” As in chess, obtaining success with respect to our health and well being depends in large part on having a sound strategy in place.

Merely knowing something is not sufficient to obtain a result. You MUST put it into ACTION!” 

Successful chess players think several moves ahead. High-level chess players such as grand masters have the ability to envision combinations involving ten or more future moves. Fortunately, being successful at the game of promoting personal health and well-being is much less complicated. There are only a few elements involved in developing a strategy that works.

These elements are well known and include:

  1. A positive mental attitude
  2. Properly functioning nerve system
  3. A nutritional sound lifestyle
  4. Regular, vigorous exercise
  5. Lack of toxic exposure (food/chemicals)

But despite being well known, only the minority of people actually implements these critical “moves.” The evidence for such lack of action may be seen in the United States, for example, where one-third of Americans are overweight and an additional one-third are obese. Merely knowing something is not sufficient to obtain a result. You MUST put it into ACTION! 

Exercise

What is required is actual action. In terms of exercise, evidence-based guidelines agree that 12 minutes of vigorous exercise, done five days a week, will provide a sound foundation for health. Optimally, such exercise consists of both cardiovascular and strength training sessions, but the most important point is to do five 12-minute sessions per week.

Nutrition

With respect to nutrition, all the evidence affirms that men, women, and children should follow specific guidelines. Do not follow calorie guidelines, counting points or taking weight loss fad pills and diet recommendations. 

Instead follow these 3 Simple Rules:

  1. Good Protein vs Bad Protein
  2. Good Carbs vs Bad Carbs
  3. Good Fats vs Bad Fats

Regarding daily food intake, the most important rule to follow is to consume at least five portions of fresh fruits and vegetables per day. 

Our strategy for helping ensure our long-term health and wellness contains only a few components, and involves many less moves than does a winning chess strategy. It should be easy to put such a strategy into place. What is required is a commitment and dedication to ourselves, our families, and our loved ones.

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