One of the hardest things to do is develop a healthy relationship with training and nutrition. We tend to put things into two categories: evil and good. I would argue that those two words are poor choices and lead to long term destruction. Some foods are not inherently evil…they are non-productive. Healthy foods are conversely productive…Same with exercises. Some are more productive than others…most importantly, exercises are dependent on how well you can execute them…
Scenario 1
Johnny decides that he would like to prepare a bagel for breakfast. A short time after eating his bagel, he notices that his stomach begins to hurt….
What To Do: The bagel is not evil. It can be as simple as the bagel did not agree with you on that particular morning. If this continues to be an issue, it would be wise to stay away from the bagel…not because it is the spawn of Satan, but it would be silly to keep eating things that upset your stomach. If you think that there is something wrong…go to the doctor. You can get tested for all sorts of things
What Not To Do: Vilify the bagel. Automatically assume that since it upset your stomach, you have an gluten allergy or hormone imbalance. You tell your friends about how bad bagels are and that every time you eat them, your stomach gets upset. You then tell your friends that they most likely have a gluten or sensitivity issue too…through all of this misinformation, there is a group of people who now thinks bagels are a bad food and should be avoided like the plague…The bagel then becomes the issue instead of treating nutrition as being state dependent.
Scenario 2
Johnny decides to hit the gym for leg day. On this particular morning, Johnny was feeling quite adventurous…so he decided to try some barbell back squats. Johnny has never done them before and did not seek out the advice from the facility staff before hand. After his first set of squats, he notices a sharp pain in his knee…
What To Do: You should learn how to perform exercises from someone qualified before you try and execute them. The back squat is not bad for your knees. You simply do not know how to do them correctly…
What Not To Do: Tell your friends that you hurt your knee during back squats because they are a terrible exercise. You vilify the back squat and tell anyone who does them that they are bad for your knees…
In Closing…
Do some research…use it as a general guide for how you train and nutrition yourself. If something upsets your stomach, do not eat it. That simple…do not run around and tell everyone that since your stomach hurts after a certain food, that everyone should avoid it. You are not everyone else and vice versa. You need a legitimate diagnosis to state that there is something wrong… This is how misinformation is spread and how pyramid schemes are born.