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I'm finally getting a chance to do some grappling again. I did some Judo and BJJ drills over at the new LA Boxing gym in Baton Rouge today. A very cool place with a great atmosphere. It makes you want to work out when you walk in the door.

A quick question:

What do pre-dawn exercise, Fire Ants, dog poop, wet car seats,  and a cat-lady all have in common?

They're all a normal part of your typical Outdoor Baton Rouge Boot Camp!

So I've got this friend who's been going to Yoglates off of College Drive here in Baton Rouge... and the first thing that ran through my mind when I heard about it was:

Louisiana (and Baton Rouge) You're the Second Fattest Population in the US, and the Least Healthy in the Entire Country.

We smoke too much, drink too much, and we eat food that packs on fat. Go to any restaurant in Baton Rouge, and you'll find some of the best local food anywhere in the country. But what do they do? They deep fry everything. To top it all off, your typical Baton Rouge resident loves to wash it down with some Natural Light brand beer (and a few cigarettes).

We're Supposed to Be the "Sportsman's Paradise," But Our Biggest "Sport" Seems to Be Eating Crap.

Now I'm not saying that you can't enjoy some "junk food" once in a while, but in Louisiana it seems that "junk food" is considered normal. We love to eat, which is a good thing, but it should be real food.

The Crazy Thing is That People in Louisiana Have Everything They Need to Look Great, and Lose the Fat.

We've got people who love to hunt and fish, tons of sunlight (which helps you make Vitamin D), and clean water. In fact, Baton Rouge has some of the cleanest water in the entire country. So what the heck is going on?

Ever since I started my personal training business, my clients always want to know why I ask them to get rid of dairy when they want to lose fat. When I tell them the reasons, people usually accept what I tell them (or pretend to). Now I have no problem with people not taking things at face value, especially with all of the fad diets and snake-oil salesmen out there. One new client of mine wanted to know a bit more: After all, the glycemic index of milk is so low, what the big deal?

Here's my response: While the glycemic index is an excellent measure of how foods affect blood sugar, it isn't the only measure we need to look at; there's also the insulin index. Unfortunately the scientific community never seemed to get too excited about the insulin index. My guess is that there is a common assumption that all foods cause an insulin spike proportional to its glycemic index.

Unfortunately that's not the case!