Manifesto

man⋅i⋅fes⋅to [man-uh-fes-toh] – a public declaration of intentions, opinions, objectives, or motives.

Diets don’t work.  Our health care is built around treating illness instead of promoting health.  And I hate working out.

This isn’t about losing weight (although I hope to) or making some kind of stand against our society (although that’s sure to happen).  I want to live until my age is three digits and be healthy and mentally stable enough to enjoy it.

I’m a sedentary sugar addict that’s beginning a year long quest to live in perfect health.  The following list of rules and guidelines are what I’ll be adhering to for the next 12 months.  A majority of them have been extracted from the research found in the following books:

All of these books, and many others, outline the lifestyles of various pockets of cultures where people regularly live healthy, active lives well into their 100’s. The problem is this research is fantastic, but I don’t live in Okinawa, Japan or Sardinia, Italy where their incredibly healthy lifestyle is supported by thousands of years of tradition. I live in the fast-paced, fast food west. What would it be like for a typical unhealthy American to live out these principles? How hard is it? Is it even possible? I’m going to find out.

The following is the list of rules I’ve adapted from my research on the various cultures around the world known for their longevity. I began on February 15, 2010 and I’ll be following them for the next twelve months. Over the next several weeks I’ll be posting on the blog more in depth reasoning behind each of these rules. I’ll update this page with links to them along the way.

I’ve broken them up into four sections:

Exercise

  • No workout regimes - Centurions don’t go to the gym and work out.  They don’t lift weights.  They make moving a regular part of their life.  So I won’t be doing any kind of routine that has me on weight training, jumping jacks or other movements that I wouldn’t normally do
  • Move every day – At least ten minutes;  most days thirty minutes.  Walking around the block counts.  Running around outside with my kids counts.  Hiking counts.  Jogging counts.
  • Walk or ride a bike anywhere within two miles – If I need to go somewhere and it’s two miles or less away I’ll ride my bike or walk.  This will mostly be to the grocery which is less than a half mile from my house.  Exception: when I have both of my kids with me.

Eat and Drink

  • Glass of wine every evening – This was the most surprising one on the list.  Every culture with a large population of Centurions regularly drinks alcohol every day.  This one should be pretty easy to keep up with.
  • No meat (except fish)
  • Five to seven servings of vegetables and fruits a day – This is going to be the hardest for me.  I don’t think I eat this much weekly and most of it is fruit.
  • Maximum of 2000 calories a day – Eating slowly off of small plates filled mostly with vegetables until I’m only 80% full.  This is how healthy Centurions do it.  This is going to suck.
  • No refined sugar, bleached flour or processed food – All bad stuff.  I’ll be eating natural sweetener, whole wheats and grains and only organic/natural foods.
  • Only water, tea, coffee and all natural juices – No soda, sugary drinks, or drinks with artificial sweeteners.
  • Limit dairy to small servings

Life Patterns

  • Observe the Sabbath – From sundown Saturday evening until sundown Sunday evening will be a time for rest.  General rule of thumb: I can do anything as long as it accomplishes nothing.
  • Solitude and Meditation – At least (1) two-hour block of time a week will be spent alone for deep thinking and reflection.
  • No vitamin supplements or medication – In one of the above books they recommend taking a vitamin supplement.  This is counter intuitive to this being a maintainable, healthy lifestyle.  If I follow the eating and exercise habits of healthy Centurions then extra vitamins shouldn’t be needed.  Also, my general belief is that headaches and other pains are symptoms of other health issues and shouldn’t be masked by Advil.  Also, most colds and other sicknesses are best left to be worked out on their own.  In fact most Centurions are rarely, if ever, ill.  Obviously I’ll break this one in case of medical emergency.

People

  • (2) hours of focused, distraction-free family time a day – Family is the main focus of Centurions and it’s too easy to become distracted in my current lifestyle.  From the time I get home from work to when my kids go to bed I will not answer the phone, be on the computer or watch TV.
  • Weekly religious activities – This one is pretty easy as it’s already a part of my life, but all Centurion saturated cultures have some sort of regular religious activity.
  • Establishing a Community – Whether it’s a potluck with several families or having several friends over for food and a movie, I’ll have regular, intentional times of fellowship with the people in my life.

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