Is Fit Thinker for Men Only?

No, not at all, the content is available to all and can be helpful to anyone on a fitness journey.

The content will be focused on American men aged 35-55 for several reasons.

Why not Women Focused Content?

Hot yoga, Greek yogurt and yo-yo dieting aren’t part of my life story.

There’s a need. Maybe because women are more likely to pay for help, the American fitness industry is focused on women, and it works poorly for men. It has not worked well for women either, but men’s results are worse.

Exercise classes are dominated by women - they crushed me.

Before getting fit I took some boot camp and boxing exercise classes. The classes were 80% women. The workouts crushed me. I had to take breaks. The women were amazing and kept going and going. I got fit working out alone, accompanied by music or podcasts. I would like to try those type of classes again now that I am in better shape - to see if I could almost keep up. *Thanks to JaneB13 at Pixabay for this image.*

American men have higher rates of obesity.
Men’s mortality rates from being overweight or obese are higher than women’s rates.
Men do not look for help or do not like the help that is available. American men are only 10% of the customers for the big diet programs.

The health-culture disconnect is killing American men. Many men do not have a clear path to better health that is supported by their culture and community.

Motivation for a man to get fit men should be focused on function - capabilities and not looks. I never got inspired to cut weight by a celebrity in a photoshoot, to look good in a swimsuit, or fit in a smaller dress. I liked aspects of being bigger. Being big was working for me until I realized it was weakening me.

I’m a man. That is what I know. When I started thinking about my health and changed my habits, I looked for fitness leaders I could relate to in the US health culture. I did not initially connect to any. Most were female-focused and too touchy-feely for this former sailor. While I now follow the shirtless body bro’s on health Twitter and appreciate their content, I could not relate to their messages at the start of my journey.

A six-pack stomach and max lift gym videos are remote to a guy on the couch with a soda and fried chicken.

My other disconnect with many Fitness Bro’s is that many have always been way above average in fitness. Their origin story’s sound like this: “After being an elite college athlete, I let myself go after getting injured during the Olympic try-outs. I gained 17.257 lbs. My six-pack looked hazy. Let me teach you what I did to get ripped again.” A person who always ate healthy, practiced moderation, etc. Was not the best guide to take me on the journey that I needed to go on.

I find too many systems to be too exact - “Follow my plans for workouts, eat this at this time, cook it this way and you will be perfect, just like me.” I read one diet book and lunch on day one was sardines - WTH? straight to sardines, not warming me up with tuna and salmon first? Other food books have complicated recipes for people that have nothing else to do each day. It is hard to fill a 300-page book when the main lesson is - “Eat the same healthy stuff that you like everyday.”

Why Not Younger Men?

Young men are invincible. At thirty, I played rugby, pulled all-nighters on work projects, and drank beer all weekend with friends - I certainly didn’t worry about drinking a Mountain Dew, eating some donuts, or skipping workouts for a week or six months. I could handle it. No big deal. I wasn’t concerned about my health in 20, 30, or 50 years. The popularity of “energy” drinks among young men today is proof that they think they’re invincible - sleep isn’t needed, just a jarring beverage.

The Fit Thinker approach can be valuable for young men. They self-identify with brands - drinks, food, clothing, cars, jobs, media, and hobbies. The ability to pull back from brand-identity, evaluate what helps them and what harms them, would be an astute skill for a lifetime of success.

Why Not Older Men?

I’m not there yet. I’m not sure I can help a 65 year old as much as a 45 year old.

bus cart.jpg — Does the sugar bus deliver people to the electric cart?

I was taking a pic of the sugar bus when this older man pulled up and took a break from carting.

Bad news - Older people change habits less.

Good news – when older people make changes they stick to the change. Many middle age and older men change habits, cut weight, and keep it off. No yo-yo for them. See a problem. Fix the problem.

Many older men get fatalistic. Their perceived ROI might be too low - “Why make changes – nothing’s killed me yet?”

Maybe it’s a long life of seeing random and confusing outcomes. In high school, you knew a kid who died in an accident. By the time your 65, you know over a hundred people that have died too early. Witnessing illness and deaths that are tragic, ironic or random, makes it easy to be fatalistic. When you see a friend that smokes, drinks, and is obese outlive a friend who ran a 5K every Saturday, ate organic veggies and carefully measured portions of grass-fed beef, fatalism seems reasonable. A fatalistic person doesn’t see a reason to make big changes.

Men 35-55 Years old are a great group for me to help

Old enough to know they’re not invincible.

The right age to know that thought and effort can lead to good results.

Young enough to believe that making changes can have a valuable impact, a positive ROI in their life.

I think, therefore I am fit.

We Think About What We Know About

The red lights start blinking, the gates go down, then the train ca-chunk-ca-chunk goes by. Most people pull out their phone to check their email and social media. I do too. I’ll also look up, examine the train, the number of engines, the types of cars. I guess which are empty and which are full. Where the full ones were loaded, what they were loaded with, and to where they are going to. I do this by habit. I know more about trains than most people because I worked a few years for the railroad CSX.

It’s a harmless habit, wasting time thinking things like, “those covered hoppers might be carrying PVC from Texas to a pipe maker in South Florida.” I’ll never know if it’s true. I’ve wondered why I do it, when Facebook, Emails and texts seek my attention.

Then, I realized why. The train is part of a system, a system that I appreciate because I know what it takes to do it right - massive engineering and data systems, skilled people, and tank cars of fuel. The train is part of what makes our lives possible.

I know about the train so I think about the train.

Thinking About Food

Over the last few years, I’ve learned what it takes to eat right. I know more about food - so I think more about food.

I ate for fifty years without deep thought. My food focus was on the surface level – taste, cost, and convenience. I would claim that I preferred healthy food. I ate unhealthy food. I ate the so-called SAD – Standard American Diet. I would prefer that the S stand for Sick or Stupid. It is a diet that makes us sick. We are stupid to keep eating it. It is no longer my standard. My food “knowledge” was outdated, wrong, and making me ill. As I learned more, I thought about it more.

I moved from reacting “What do I want to eat?” to thinking “What am I eating?” Moving me from a Stupid Awful Diet (SAD) to a Thinking Energy Diet (TED). Since food should give Energy and Nutrition, and not be full of fillers and chemicals, I now look at things I used to eat as FOOd Like Substances (FOOLS). They are not worthy of being consumed.

The food system is complex. The big wins are simple. As knowledge increases so will your curiosity and need for judgement. Increasing your knowledge will enable you to learn about what works best for you - theory and practice. You can evaluate your energy levels and trends.

Use a little knowledge to change feelings. Increase your Knowledge to increase your feelings and motivation, enabling you to implement actions for healthy eating. We seek to create a positive loop of better health, fitness and energy through good food, exercise and sleep.

I think, therefore I am fit.