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Summary
On episode 605 of 40+ Fitness, Coach Allan runs through nine things worth dropping from your life today, arguing that just as much of your health comes from removing what’s working against you as from adding in what helps.
The list moves from the obvious, smoking, added sugar, and processed food, to habits that get less attention, like sitting for long stretches, negative self-talk, and time spent on social media.
Allan closes with alcohol and unnecessary medications, and makes the case that most of these are easier to drop once you’re intentionally adding real food, movement, and better sleep in their place.
Links
- https://40plusfitness.com/bingo
Key Takeaways
- Smoking and tobacco top the list because of what Allan has seen firsthand. He watched his grandfather have parts of his throat and tongue removed and his father-in-law die of lung cancer, and he encourages using whatever tool it takes, patches, gum, or hypnosis, to quit.
- Added sugar, not the natural sugar in fruit or vegetables, is the real target. It hides in yogurt, coffee creamer, ketchup, and even “healthy” peanut butter under names ending in “-ose” or as high fructose corn syrup, so cutting it usually means reading labels rather than relying on willpower.
- Processed foods are engineered to be over-eaten, not to be healthy. Package claims like “healthy” or “whole” are marketing, not a nutrition guarantee. If it comes out of a box, bag, or can, the label is worth checking before trusting it.
- Long stretches of sitting undo an otherwise active day. The fix isn’t standing all day either, since that carries its own risks like varicose veins, it’s regular movement, using a structure like the Pomodoro method’s 25 minutes of work followed by a 5-minute movement break.
- Negative self-talk has a physical cost, not just an emotional one. It raises cortisol, which drives muscle loss and fat storage. Allan recommends journaling the negative statement and then actively writing a rebuttal to it in the moment.
- Toxic relationships and heavy social media use tend to feed each other. Allan calls social media the current “birthplace” of most toxic interactions, so limiting exposure, and being selective about who you engage with there, protects both mental and physical health.
- Alcohol’s supposed health benefits don’t hold up under scrutiny. Getting a meaningful dose of something like resveratrol from wine would require drinking far more than anyone realistically does, so Allan treats alcohol as something to minimize rather than a health strategy.
- Unnecessary medications deserve a regular review with a doctor or pharmacist. As the body ages, drug reactions change, and one medication’s side effects can lead to a second prescription just to manage them, so it’s worth asking whether every drug on the list is still needed.
- Adding good habits often crowds out the bad ones automatically. Allan frames dropping these nine things as easier when it’s paired with intentionally adding real food, consistent movement, and better sleep, rather than trying to white-knuckle the eliminations alone.
“If these things are in your life, they’re holding your health back. They just are.”
Coach Allan
Another Episode You May Enjoy
Episode 630 – How to break your sugar addiction with Dr. Nicole Avena
Episode Notes
Podcast: 40+ Fitness
Episode: 605
Published: 2023-08-29
Host: Allan Misner (aka Coach Allan), author of The Wellness Roadmap
Guest(s): —, our co-host, Coach Rachel
Listen & Subscribe: Apple Podcasts · Spotify · YouTube (audio only)