Why Worry About Little Things If The Big Things Aren’t In Place?
Photo by atomicjeep
I had a conversation at work last Friday that sparked this post. One of my coworkers was calling people out for drinking water/tea out of cups made of #7 plastic, which is known to leech xenoestrogens. I pointed out that his bottle of Cherry Coke had 70g of sugar and that the plastic his drink came out of was probably a much smaller concern than that sugar (which will be discussed further in a later post).
But this got me to thinking about why we spend so much time focused on the minutiae of our lives rather than the big things that make the most difference. So many people get bogged down in the details that they fail to make even the simplest changes that could reap huge benefits. There’s no science today, no details, just high-level stuff in fitting with the theme.
Misguided Focus
So here are a few questions?
- Should you worry about whether your cookie is made with high-fructose corn syrup or whether you are sleeping 8 hours per night?
- Which is better: counting calories or just eating quality food?
- Should you worry about what plastic your bottle is made of if the beverage in the bottle is a sugar-bomb?
- Is the type of workout you do more important than just getting up and getting started with something active even if it’s not the world’s best workout?
I’d argue that focusing on the second item in each pair will yield far greater benefits and is just as easy as, and in some cases easier than, dealing with the first items. Of course, none of these are mutually exclusive. It would be all the better to drink green tea out of a glass instead of drinking Coke out of a plastic bottle. But if you have to pick one, ditch the Coke before concerning yourself with the plastic bottle.
Remember Pareto’s Principle
First identified by Vilfredo Pareto, you probably know The Pareto Principle by its more common name, the “80/20 Rule”. This rule states that “80% of X comes from 20% of Y,” or conversely “20% of X yields 80% of Y”. In business, it might be “80% of your sales come from 20% of your customers” or “20% of the defects cause 80% of the problems”. In economics, 20% of the world’s population holds just over 80% of its wealth.
So what’s my 20% that takes care of 80% of the gains you’ll make in your health, at least in terms of diet? Eat Real Food. Before worrying about quantity, focus on quality. I think there are far bigger health and performance rewards to be gained from avoiding processed grains, sugars, and fake fats than there are from eating those items in specific quantities.
As I’ve pointed out before, civilizations have thrived on various quantities of carbohydrates, protein, and fat. What remains constant across all of them is that they eat unprocessed foods and ensure that certain foods, like soy and grains, are properly fermented to neutralize their negatives.
The Other 80% Comes Later
That’s not to say that there’s no importance in avoiding xenoestrogens or in putting a focus on how much of the various macronutrients you eat. It is to say that I put those things at a lower level than cleaning up the foods you eat, ensuring that you get enough sleep, and living an active lifestyle. Remember that even the most beautiful architecture is built on a solid foundation of rock or iron before the builder ever concerns himself with the flourishes. Build your body the same way.
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Wow man, very interesting post. I’m really glad you touched on this topic. I went to a convention last year to do a presentation on Fitness and Jain Living. A lot of the questions I was getting were about supplements and protein and how to get their biceps bigger.
A lot of these kids were in high school. Some were in decent shape but most of them were just off base. It was a bit depressing how these kids are surrounding themselves with all these bodybuilding mags telling them to measure this and take that.
They lose track of the big picture and forget what’s really important in their quest to build better bodies: to push yourself at every workout.
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Far too true. And people get so tied up in the details of things that they completely miss the big picture.. especially when it comes to health. I always say focus on a few, healthy key principles. Start with one and then expand from there.
The SoG
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All too true, and I know that I am guilty of this, not just diet, it is everything in life. Career, relationships. You may be bogged down by the details but alot of stress will be relieved if you focus on the big picture. Here’s some useful advice: if you ever feel stressed out pause, take a deep breath and ask yourself, will this really be THAT important in 3 months (or 6 or a year, you specify it) from now?
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Sage advice.
I think we get caught up in all the minutae as an attempt to actually avoid action.
We focus on understanding the details of the latest miracle diet or the toxins in the air or why specific tempos should be employed while performing a fancy-schmancy (technical term) resistance training workout.
Instead of eating real food, drinking water instead of pop, getting daily exercise, building quality relationships, getting adequate sack time, etc….
Somehow we have de-volved from a bunch of do-ers to a bunch of talkers.
Stop talking and start doing
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DR:
Your post reminds me of a quote (form the omnivore’s dilemma I think).
“Forget about nutritionism eat food!”.
I little simplistic perhaps, but also an excellent reminder not to get caught up in the details when you’re still missing the big picture.
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An important guiding princible, but with that in mind, it’s easy to forget that you might need part of that 20% to overcome the bad 80%.
E.g., what can we do to minimize the impact of not getting enough sleep? “Get more sleep,” I can hear someone saying, but what if we’re at the office 15 hours a day in a job we’d like to stay in?
That is, what acute, specific things can we do to overcome the general, systematic problems we face? It’s great if you can afford a lot of vegetables, but if you can’t, or you have a job or responsibilities that make preparing meals ahead of time difficult, you might end up reaching for the green powders and casein shakes. It’s not real food, but it’s a good alternative.
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Hey Nathan,
I’ve got a solution to eating real food all day long. Have a cooked breakfast and dinner comprised of real foods and prepare a simple mixed green salad in a tupperware bowl for sometime during the day. It’s really that simple. I was working a job that rivals the most demanding of schedules and I still managed to maintain sound nutritional intake by keeping it this simple. There’s no need to bog yourself down with trying to figure out how to prepare a gourmet meal at the office, just keep it simple. Might I add that you brought up a very good point that effects a lot of people.
Scott: Thanks for the post!
All the Best,
Andrew R
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So true Scott. I first learnt about the pareto principle in college as part of a business class but I have seen it applied to so many different areas. It really is a principle for almost all situations.
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That is a great post.
Too often those of us with an interest (obsession?) about exercise / diet / fitness become fixated on the little things.
Ultimately it is the big picutre that matters – real food, movement, sleep and “contentment”.
Thanks for all your great posts Scott
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Scott –
Right on the money. 90% of new clients starting out with me ask me what the best supplements are, what their meal timing should be like, etc., while in the meantime they eat poorly, sleep a few hours a night (if at all), and haven’t lifted anything heavier than a pencil in years.
Getting the basics right over and over again is as non-sexy as it gets. It’s also 99% of success.
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This is great, Scott! I’ve shared it on my blog OneHealthyGirl.com.
You and your readers may be interested in my Economic Crisis Diet (aka The Silver Lining Diet) because it provides 10 tips that each take the planet, personal health and personal finances into consideration. My Diet illustrates how we can focus on the big and small picture simultaneously. It may be more radical than the 80/20 approach, but I think it’s very “doable.” The link to the Diet is on my blog – look for the stack o’ cash.
Be well, Carla aka OneHealthyGirl.com
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[...] Forager asks, “Why Worry About The Little Things When The Big Things Aren’t In Place?” Published [...]
I agree.
A lot of people will spend considerable time and money making sure their grains are organic or whatever, not pausing to think whether they should be buying grains in the first place.
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I agree with DR that focusing on the minutae makes more interesting conversation than eating healthy food and exercising. More of my co-workers are willing to talk about their diet (low carb, Atkins, etc) than to talk about their workouts. It is easier to keep talking rather keep moving. That is why sometimes I think I will strain my eyeballs from all my eye rolling when I get health advice from my co-workers.
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