Men ~ which is more appealing?

Do you need to eat a 1/2 pound of meat in one meal? And do you get more pleasure out of the burger by citing the saturated fat gram content? Does it taste better that way?

The so-called healthy lifestyle has been preached in multiple incarnations in the US for over 150 years by various health cults. Graham crackers were originally developed as a health food in 1829.

Look at all the diet trends: very low calorie; low-carb, low-fat, high-protein, high-fiber. Atkins, Ornish, Pritikin, South Beach, Hollywood, Frenchwomen, Mediterranean, China Study. Vegetarianism (ovo-, ovo-lacto, vegan, et al.) No sugar, no meat, no beef, no eggs, no dairy, no fruit, no gluten. High-intensity training, aerobics, weight training, stretching, calisthenics, yoga, pilates, kickboxing, zumba, boxing, MMA, bootcamp. Just pick your diet/ exercise fad.

It's so much easier to keep things simple:
* Eat food.... mostly plants... not too much. (Thank you Michael Pollan)
* Say active every day. (Does not mean work out every day.) Just move around, run your errands, do your chores, walk the dog, take a walk, work in the garden. Exercise but don't overdo it.
* Maintain and expand your network of friends and family. Go to church, volunteer, call your siblings, meet your neighbors.

Easy, really, if the goal is to maintain mobility and avoid nutritional deficiencies, and to get older without accelerating the wear and tear on your body, and to include emotional health as part of your lifestyle.

The zealots who get entranced by weight, BMI, percent body fat, and maximum VO-2 measurements are assuming that the readings are markers for health. Remember that Lance Armstrong had testicular cancer when he was 25 y/o and extremely fit.

I work in health care, and yes, there are plenty of overweight/obese patients with weight-related health conditions. But I've also met plenty of normal weight people with skin and other cancers, osteoporosis, diabetes, thyroid, high cholesterol, aneurysms, strokes, back, joint and mobility problems due to wear and tear and just aging bodies.

So enjoy your version of a healthy lifestyle. Just don't look down on other people's versions; yours is not superior.