So your ready for a lifestyle change… And you want to learn how to turn around an unhealthy lifestyle and achieve fit healthy longevity. My recommendation, study other cultures within and outside of Western influence and compare a populations health, disease, diet, activities, religion, socialization behaviors, mortality rate and age per capita data – e.g., compare nomadic tribes, people in blue zones and certain religious cultures, etc., versus Westernized demographic and lifestyle statistics.

What demographic experts have found – cultures absent of Western influence live longer in good health with little to no disease. If you learn how to tweak your lifestyles closer to theirs, it is more likely than not you’ll achieve similar wellbeing and longevity benefits – even within a Westernized culture once you know how.

Many clients I worked with over past years were overweight and sought a quick weight loss and/or physical enhancement solution to lose body fat and get more fit. A question often asked from the overweight and unfit population, “are all fast weight loss and fitness and performance enhancement; and restrictive diet solutions and processed foods; and polluted air and water; and noise pollution; and unhealthy relationships bad for us?” My simple answer is “in the long run, yes.”

So how does one achieve the goal without dabbling in unhealthy fitness and diet fads and product gimmicks and mind-body numbing drugs, etc. Let alone decipher the good from bad consumer stuff… and not increase health risk? Although I can’t cover everything in this article, I can help you make a significant lifestyle change that will make a big difference in your life if your ready for it.

If you only “tweak a few lifestyle habit(s)” daily… as described in principles 1-3 below, you’ll improve your state of wellbeing, fitness levels and experience less illness and disease. But if you continue to find short cuts to cure what ails your mind, body and spirit and change nothing… living the lifestyle you need, want and deserve now may never come to pass.

It is no secret, nomadic tribe activities include walking from place to place to shelter seasonally and hunt and gather for food daily to sustain a lifestyle on the move. There are many things we can learn about remote cultures absent of Western influence and disease. The most obvious, nomadic people don’t sit idle for very long, they also don’t have convenient access to processed foods and drinks; and don’t typically become obese with related disease; and live 10 years or longer on average than their Western counterparts. If your going to stay fit healthy long term, the most important activity change habit you must apply now is daily walking, biking or other aerobic activity.

“To begin living a nomadic-like lifestyle and begin receiving the fit healthy longevity benefits – first… Condition Your mind/body to walk Daily – then you’ll achieve the metabolism and cardio-muscular endurance of a nomadic tribesman” [MirrorAthlete].

If not able to walk based on current physical condition, or maybe your rehabbing from an injury, etc., their are affordable stationary leg and arm cycling home equipment products for purchase that will improve cardio and muscular endurance and rehabilitative benefits you need and deserve daily. This course will ultimately condition you to walk and/or keep the body in a good state of repair.

“I know many of you may be unable to walk abroad for your daily exercise for various reasons. That’s why I recommend a small investment in home exercise equipment to accommodate a busy lifestyle and/or medical condition and/or protection from a Covid19 environment” [Marc Woodard]

Principled Lifestyle Change Habits Require No Fads or Gimmicks

The reason so many people fail at long term weight loss within Western cultures is because of sedentary habits and unhealthy behaviors; consume too many processed foods and drinks and drugs; and/or use diet and performance enhancement fads and gimmicks throughout their lives and/or become overweight and get sick.

There are 3 fit healthy lifestyle change principles you can apply now based on demographic data of remote cultures mostly absent of illness and disease and live longer than their Western counterparts – I believe, if anyone applied these 3 core fit healthy longevity principles, they’d receive similar benefits.

Principle One – Walking is an aerobic exercise activity we’re physically designed to do well for life. Walking motivates the mind to find purpose and will power to achieve set goals – through walking the bodies natural release of feel good metabolic chemicals improves mood and state of wellbeing. The daily release of adrenalin and other healthy feel good brain-body chemicals during exercise also provides the motivation necessary to change unhealthy lifestyle habits and behavior into healthier ones. Which lead to healthy body weight, increased fitness levels and mobility; and wellness, etc. 

Principle Two – Although most of us will never hunt and fish for sustenance, our marketplace does offer a variety of fresh whole foods identified as – Certified organic farmed fresh. Knowing how to identify organic vs processed foods and removal of unhealthy food chemicals is important if you want to achieve and sustain healthy body weight and good health for life.

Principle Three – When possible find a stress and pollutant free sanctuary to exercise [i.e., free of noise and air pollutants and processed foods temptations]. If possible find a healthy place indoors and/or transport oneself to a healthier place to exercise, unwind, relax and detox if only for a few hours. It does not cost anything to walk, or little cost to hop aboard public transportation to perform walking exercise in a cleaner environment. Once you begin applying “Nomadic Dual Purpose Exercise” [Defined Below], it will naturally reduce your body weight and increase state of wellbeing… and once repeated and conditioned daily – you’ll crave and have the will power to do it again every day.

Principled Healthy Habit Lifestyle Change – Dual Purpose Activity

Plan walking exercise daily to optimize the fat burning metabolism. During low stress walking activity – Carry a back pack with 2-3 liters of water. Plan to rehydrate on your walk and shop activity to your favorite whole foods store to gather healthy food products for your next meal. Shopping whole foods while walking is a lifestyle change practice you can condition yourself to do daily – similar to how a nomadic tribesman walks to fish and hunt. In doing so you receive similar fitness and healthy food nutrients at the dinner table.

• Nomadic tribes people walk miles daily to move camp, hunt and gather food – If you don’t exercise with frequency, or haven’t exercised with intensity or effort in a while, I recommend you begin a slow paced daily walking activity if there is no medical reason not to. Once you condition yourself to walk daily, work towards increased walk pace, not less than 15-30 minutes in duration. The more you walk the more calories you burn and the leaner you become and the better you’ll feel. After exercise your metabolism also stays elevated for up to two hours – burning even more calories at rest.

• Nomadic tribes people eat very little to no processed foods – Eat less processed and convenience foods and more whole foods and drink more water. Avoid processed ready-to-eat meals and sodas and beverages. Especially those packaged within colorful and attractive packages. This is code for “contains food chemicals.” Look at the food ingredient labels. If you can’t pronounce the ingredient names – buyer beware. All baked and frozen foods ready to consume have varying degree of chemical preservatives, additives, dyes, artificial flavors, Trans Fats and other chemicals to keep them fresh looking in appearance with long storage life. These chemicals are known to cause illness and disease long term.
• Nomadic tribes people live outdoors in fresh air environments – Move yourself outdoors for exercise activity as often as possible – preferably in a pollutant free environment…. and/or before/after motor vehicle traffic rush. If air quality is bad regardless, go to a healthier air environment or exercise indoors. Be sure to drink 2-3 liters of water daily to help remove toxins from the immune, circulatory and flush the bodies filtration systems and keep bones joints well lubricated. Coffee, beer and sodas and energy drinks are not healthy alternatives to water.

To achieve a fit healthy lifestyle change and benefits similar to a remote culture based on the 3 common principles… Tweak your lifestyle to live more in line with a nomadic, or remote culture absent of Western influence to achieve the longevity benefits.

Marc T. Woodard, MBA, BS Exercise Science, ARNG, CPT, RET. 2020 Copyright. All rights reserved, Mirror Athlete Inc., www.mirrorathlete.org, Sign up for your Free eNewsletter.