BI – Aerobic exercise, or cardio, might be the closest thing we have to a miracle drug. When we commit to regular workouts that raise our heart rate and get us moving and sweating for a sustained period, magical things happen to our mind and body. We start to think more clearly, feel better about ourselves, and even build buffers against age-related cognitive decline. Our lungs and heart get stronger, too.

Yes, the answers are really this simple. Study after Study, Year after Year, research upon research, it all points to the same results every time. The two key factors for health, happiness, mindfulness, physical well being, “insert whatever you chooses here”….. are (buckle up, this is gonna be shocking):

Moving & Not Eating like Shit

There’s no perfect ratio for the two and many times one may be able to compensate for the other(in the short term). One of the prime examples of this are athletes, throughout their career athletes are constantly training and competing. For many, their diets do not match their strict training regiment(although that’s changing). As soon as they retire they naturally cut back on the physical activity (unless your James Harrison) but many times keep up the poor eating habits. We’ve all seen it, athlete retires, they go off the grid for a year or two, they reemerge looking like the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man.

Its not easy, but the information to spur personal change has been available and out there for some time, the research keeps piling on. We’re just really understanding how important our gut is to our health and prosperity. An increasing amount of Scientists and Doctors believe that almost all illness and medical problems begin in the gut and the microbes that make up it up, some even go as far to call it our “Second Brain”. The microbes that inhabit our guts are a byproduct of the food that be put in our body, different food groups allow certain colonies of microbes to prosper. And Guess What, the average western diet is not spurring the growth of the the good guys. Its allowing poor colonies to prosper, leading to leaky gut, inflammation and ultimately to new-era western diseases (Diabetes, Heart Diseases, IBS, Alzheimers , etc…). The microbes in your gut are in a constant shoving match for real estate, imagine it was SantaCon (in honor of this past weekend) in you gut everyday. There’s one bar open (your gut) for hundreds of Santa’s and Elfs(microbes), as long as booze(shitty food) is continuing to be served people will continue to push and shove to establish bar position. You’ll end up with a large group of rowdy, belligerent Santa’s spraying beer, and throwing up (Of course I’m just speculating here) all over the place. When the booze runs out and water is the only beverage left, the bar will begin to clear out and only the people who are there for good music and that holiday atmosphere will stick around, there will be a new majority in your gut the bar, a civilized happy bunch.

Eating like crap, more often then not, will lead to you preforming at a sub-par level. The sad thing is, many people accept this as the norm and turn to a pill to balance them out. My challenge to you is to implement change for two weeks and see for yourself (if you live to 80, that’s under .05% of your life), you need to be your top priority.

Put yourself in a position to Win