A Little Less "Sicko"

Noted documentary filmmaker Michael Moore has been on tour hyping his newest film, "Capitalism: A Love Story." I'll check it out at some point as I have seen all his other movies. While I'm sure the movie is good, one thing I've noticed is Moore's weight loss. Over the years, I've said to myself, "Geez, for a guy who always complains about health care, he doesn't seem to be doing much about his own overweight issue." Maybe he heard me because he has had great success over the last year or so dropping the pounds.

"So how did he do it" you ask? Moore mentioned recently to Jay Leno he took a liking to The Pritikin Principle. Being Mr. Inquisitive that I am, plus the fact I try and read everything I can, I checked out Robert Pritikin's work. There were no big surprises what their program advocates to promote healthy weight loss. According to Mr. Pritikin, the 5 main recommendations for The Pritikin Principle are as follows:

1. Eat whole, Unprocessed, and natural Carbohydrate-Rich Foods (i.e. whole grains, fruits, and veggies)



2. Eat low-fat foods



3. Eat frequently



4. Be Active



5. Avoid Salty Foods
   

Following the Pritikin diet, he revealed to New Yorker Magazine that he lost 30 lbs over the past 3 months. His advice to others: “What I learned through Pritikin is pretty basic. Like, one common denominator of overweight people is, they don’t get enough sleep. Basically, my advice to the 65 percent of the country that’s overweight is to do three simple things: Get seven to eight hours sleep every night, go for a 45-minute walk each day, and eat at least 35 grams of fiber each day."

No big surprises here. I do LOVE that Moore preached plenty of rest/sleep as that is the biggest flaw for far too many people, particularly to us overworked, overstressed Americans. Adequate sleep, regular exercise, and proper nutritional habits could save this country billions.