Welcome back to another episode of Arnold's Pump Club. Yesterday I discussed why it's time for the fitness industry to be honest with people. But if we truly want a healthier, fit a world, it starts with you. There is no gimmick. There is no shortcut. But when I say this, I can hear you thinking, Arnold, that's easy for you to say. Fitness has always been your life.
And you've always been in top shape. But it's not easy for me to say, I've had to work my way back from the bottom. And I learned a lot along the way. After I underwent open heart surgery, I found myself in a new position. I needed to use a walker.
I had to do breathing exercises five times a day to retrain my lungs. I was frustrated and angry. And in my worst moments, I couldn't see the way back to my old self. Three months later, I returned to a film set to star in a new Terminator movie. And you probably know that there is no such thing as a weak Terminator.
I'd love to tell you is because of a certain product or workout or diet, but it wasn't, I just kept walking. I kept breathing. I kept trying. I was lucky. I had a huge team around me supporting me the whole way. Eventually, I got into the gym and went through the motions without weights. At first, I upgraded from walks around my backyard to bike rides.
I didn't worry about six packs or bench pressing 500 pounds. My only goal was improving a little bit every single day. And eventually, all of those small improvements and all of that support brought me back to a strong, healthy place. Going through that process showed me that many people put too much faith in big moments, believing they'll suddenly flip a switch and be healthier. There's no such thing.
I'm not asking you to reject all the delicious food you love because I would never do that either. I'm simply asking you to be healthy. I'm not asking you to be better tomorrow than you were today and to inspire someone you care about to join you. It's not sexy, but it's the key to fulfilling the unfulfilled promise of our fitness crusade and repairing this broken industry.
Build habits, connect with people and be more positive. Those three ingredients will serve you well. Don't chase the next big thing. Be better today. That's all. If you and your training partner walked 5,000 steps yesterday, walk 5,000 one today. If you ate one vegetable yesterday, eat two tomorrow. Let's do this because it's something we all can accomplish. Now, let's get to today's tips. We'll start with new research that will hopefully help you stay away from sickness.
Vitamin C is one of the most popular methods for getting rid of the common cold. But if you want some protection, don't wait till you get sick. Research suggests that supplementing vitamin C after cold hits won't do much, no matter how much you take. In other words, it's already too late once you feel a cold coming on.
But that doesn't mean you should drop vitamin C from your life. New research suggests that taking vitamin C preventatively could reduce the severity of your cold and make your symptoms less miserable. Participants took vitamin C before they got sick and continued supplementing it during their illness compared to a placebo. Those taking vitamin C reduced severe symptoms by 66%.
Unfortunately, it doesn't appear to affect the duration of a cold. When immune cells start attacking virus cells, they create inflammation and damages of byproduct. Because vitamin C is an important antioxidant, it may inhibit this collateral damage, reducing symptom severity. If you want to get your vitamin C naturally through your diet, good sources include oranges, pineapple, kiwi, bell peppers, strawberries, papaya, and grapefruit.
Now, let's talk about a different type of fitness. Every day on this podcast in the daily email and in the pump app, we're focused on building the strength to lift up the world. That means offering practical, doable tips to improve your physical, mental, and emotional fitness.
But there might be one type of fitness we all need more of. And that's your social fitness. It might sound new to you, but lack of training your social fitness muscles could be connected to more health issues than you imagined. People are spending less time together than ever, and the decrease in happiness appears to be more than a coincidence. While there are many potential solutions in a recent article from the Atlantic, Derek Thompson wrote,
I don't think hanging out more will solve every problem. But I do think every social crisis in the US could be helped somewhat if people spend a little more time with other people and a little less time gazing into digital content that's designed to make us anxious and despondent about the world.
Those are some powerful words. But based on what I've experienced, I believe them. As we've shared before in an 85 year study conducted at Harvard, social connection and belonging with some of the strongest indicators of a happy and healthy life. That's why I'd love for all of you to try and spend at least one hour a week to connect with a friend. The combination of more meaningful relationships and less time on your screens will likely boost your health in many ways.
It's time to build your social fitness, one gathering at a time. Finally, let's talk about a new study that I found fascinating. We all know that overeating is a problem. But understanding how the less is easier said than done. Telling someone to eat less and move more isn't helpful. But understanding why you have trouble controlling your hunger could be the first step towards making small changes that work with your biology so you're not constantly craving more food.
New research suggests food texture, specifically the softness of a food might significantly influence how much you overeat. Researchers examined the effect of food texture and processing on total calorie intake. Based on prior studies, it appears that increasing the processing of food such as adding salt, sugar and fat results in you eating more. That is true. But it's not just the level of processing that matters.
When you eat harder foods, scientists found you might eat hundreds of calories fewer per day. In fact, those eating hot, ultra-processed foods ate less than those eating soft, minimally processed foods. On paper, the ultra-processed foods should have led to the most overeating. But that wasn't the case. This is likely because of the science of palatability.
Even though research suggests that people eat more when consuming ultra-processed foods, other mechanisms determine your total intake, specifically research suggests how quickly you consume a meal determines fullness levels and total calorie intake. So by eating harder foods, think eating almonds instead of almond butter, you're forced to chew more. And that triggers a domino effect that slows your eating speed and increases fullness resulting in you eating less each meal.
It's why tool number three of Adam's book, you can't screw this up, is take 20 minutes. Research suggests that those who take 20 minutes to eat consume significantly less, and including more hard foods is one of the simplest ways to slow down. And that's it for today's episode. I created this podcast because I believe that fitness is for everyone. So I'm using the power of machines to help me deliver news, information, and support that will make you healthier.
I am not a cybernetic organism, but I do have an important mission to build the positive corner of the internet and lift up the world. There's too much negativity online, and I want this podcast to give you the support you need to become a little bit better.
I want to thank our editors in chief Adam Bornstein and Daniel Ketchle who helped me with this podcast and our daily newsletter, as well as our producers, pen name consulting. We value all your feedback and the three of us are here to support you. If you enjoyed this podcast, please leave a review. We love hearing from you. Together we have the strength to lift up the world.