This whole thing got really weird so I'm going to stew on how to make it better and do some re-organizing, please bare with me.

The following section is called 10 by 10's since it is meant to be a simple recommendation list of different exercises to pick and choose from that can be completed in-between drives between the different locations since most people just auto-pilot themselves using Ignis and what else is there to do besides get up and move around to stay mildly healthy.

I used to explain the different exercises, but they're really simple and if you really aren't sure what something looks like, just try googling the proper fitness form. I shouldn't have to explain how to complete a jumping jack or a proper push-up.

Mix and match different workout ideas to create your own calisthenics routine, don't feel pressured to push yourself to hard if anything is too difficult and please do assisted forms if you need to help yourself, nobody is judging and it is all about making the self stronger. If at any point you feel your body shaking, quivering or just generally weakening, good that is the entire point, feel good about it and lean into that feeling since that is you actively getting stronger. Don't hurt yourself though, listen to your body telling you No.

From a standing position:

Jumping Jacks
Toe Touches
Calf and Hamstring Stretches
Arm Rolls and Wheels (Windmills)
Neck Rolls to the left and the right
Shoulder Stretching across the front and behind the back
Lunges

Dot Drills

Imagine a set of dots laid out like the dots on the face of a six-sided die or lay them out with markers for yourself, classically the five dotted face. Stand with feet shoulder width apart, hop forward and bring the feet together then hop forward again with the feet apart, jump and spin then rinse and repeat.

Forward Drill
Backward Drill, i.e., same as forward but backwards
Alternating Hops, i.e., instead of putting both feet forward, hop with one foot forward, hop back, now the other foot, then back and then both feet, and so on
Backwards Alternating Hops, i.e., same thing as the last but this time backwards

Squats and variations:

Normal Stance
Wide Stance
Narrow Stance

Squatter's Pose, i.e., literally cop a squat and just hold it for a bit, most of humanity has been sitting this way since the dawn of time.

Holds, i.e., any of these but hold the descended position for a uniform length of time

One-Legged Chair Lifts, i.e., stand on one leg, put the other in front of and on top of your knee, you should be making a figure 4 with your legs, now descend into a sitting position as though there were a chair under you, hold briefly and ascend, repeat with the other leg. If this one is difficult, just try standing in the figure 4 position until it becomes easy to hold and then continue trying to descend until you can hold yourself in the seated position.

Push-Ups and Variations

Assisted or From the Knee Ups
Regular
Diamond Stance
Narrow Stance
Wide Stance
Knuckle-Ups
Finger-Ups
One-Handed

Vertical Push-Ups, i.e., either with a partner or using a wall, enter an assisted hand stand by having someone support but not hold your feet or by crawling up a wall backwards (with clean socks), you should now be doing a hand stand, now attempt to descend and push yourself back up, rinse and repeat. These are incredibly difficult but the creme de le creme of upper body strengthers. This is a Gladio level exercise for sure, definitely not Prompto level.

Burpee's, i.e., from a stand or more preferred from a jumping jack, rapidly squat down, kick your legs out and perform a push-up then rapidly push yourself back into a stand and perform a jumping jack then back down for a push-up. These suck a lot, but are great for full bodied motion.

Crunches and Variations

I started doing proper crunches again and never used to understand them being difficult but I also let myself go have always had super weak core strength. The goal is to touch elbows to knee caps or thighs at the very least.

Traditional Crunches, i.e., feet on the floor or wedged under something
90-Degree, i.e., hold your legs up at a 90 degree angle as though sitting in a chair and lift your chin towards the ceiling
Alternating Knee Touches, i.e., put a foot on the opposite knee and try to touch the lifted knee with the opposing elbow and alternate

Bicycle Kicks, i.e., lay down, lift the legs and hips to start pedaling in the air and then lift the upper body as much as possible while maintaining the air pedaling, increase the difficulty by trying alternate knee to elbow touches

Leg Ups, i.e., while laying on your back, put your arms out to support yourself, lift the legs together and bring the knees up into a curled position and then lift your legs upwards. The goal is to lift the entire lower body up in a fluid controlled motion and then to descend with control and then repeat with speed.

Consider this guide to be a translation of the book that Gladio reads while being chauffeured around.

It started out as just some basic exercises to go through while players are driven around in-game, but everyone loves the additions to it so far, so thanks for all the appreciation!

The initial idea being that the guide is supposed to serve as the book that Gladio reads which, was handed down to him by Cor, which in turn has been handed down through the Kings Glaive as a philosophical text to have its teachings passed down and spread throughout the generations.

At least that was the starting intention, that isn't real lore but I thought it was a fun way to think about things.

If you’d like to skip to the exercises, they are listed in the section 10 Sets of 10 and I would strongly recommend reading at least the preparation tips for workout snack ideas.

Why a Book and not a Sword?

While there are weapons passed down through the Kings Glaive, the most overlooked aspect of all warrior philosophies is a deep respect and appreciation for the mind and written word since the pen shall always be mightier than the sword. This means that the pen and the sword are two halves of the same whole, which both require dedication and training to master. To quote a popular show:

“The mind needs books like a sword needs a whetstone, that is why I read.”
- Tyrion Lannister played by Peter Dinklage in Game of Thrones

While some may understand this, many do not. A concept found in many Buddhist teachings is duality and non-duality. In the simplest terms, duality is like looking into a mirror and seeing your reflection as separate from oneself, non-duality is the understanding that ones own reflection is a part of oneself and that there is no difference between the two since they are two halves of the same whole. All things are reflected in all others, one just has to know how to look.

This is why the pen shall always be mightier than the sword, for while a pen may be wielded in the same manner as the sword, the sword cannot be wielded in the same manner as a pen, which is why a true warrior must master both in order to be effective on either battlefield. In this case the dualism is not between the pen and the sword, but in how a person views mental strength and physical strength as being either distinctly separate or inherently interwoven since they are both an aspect of strength as a whole that are typically viewed as being in opposition to one another instead of being the two halves of the same whole, which comprise a true warrior.

Real World Influence
Try researching the name: Miyamoto Musashi

Miyamoto Musashi was a 16th century Japanese warrior philosopher, who was perhaps one of the greatest warriors to ever walk the face of the Earth. He authored his own philosophical works which have been translated into:

The Path of Aloneness and The Book of Five Rings

The Path of Aloneness is a list of 21 precepts to live by and mediate on their true meaning in relation to ones own life and The Book of Five Rings is a discussion on his personal philosophies, as well as detailing the best way to fight with two katana's and the cleanest way to behead a man. While the former is applicable to the current times and the latter is no longer, at least in any literal sense; the whole of his philosophic works is incredibly relevant in terms of anyone who wants to broaden the way they think about life, while also developing a deeper compassion for life, themselves, the skills we acquire and how to better apply them, as well as, mastering the warrior within.

Please stay hydrated, maintain your blood sugar levels, consume protein and just keep yourself generally healthy while working out.

Anecdotally, I, personally, tend to work out too hard and overexert myself which causes hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) to the point where I physically start to black out. As in my skin turns paper white, I get physically shaky, light-headed and so weak that I have fallen and blacked out. In order to successfully work out and not experience the effects of hypoglycemia I need to drink enormous amounts of water and eat copious amounts of food, before, during and after each work out.

To preface, when I was a senior in high school the freshmen nicknamed me "Try Hard" because I actually worked out in the weight training class and broke sweat instead of sitting around doing nothing. My goal was to put my name on one of the plaques for doing the most of something so I worked up to doing a single 510lb back squat, I weighed 160lbs and that one squat was lifting 3x my body weight. I didn't get my name on a plaque because I wasn't on a sports team, but I did accomplish my personal goal of crushing a previous athletic record and I did it as a "non-athlete".

Don't do this to yourself, it's not healthy, it's not worth it, and it's not good for your body. Years later, I am dearly paying for the improper weight lifting and body building that I put myself through to accomplish that single goal and after having stopped working out as hard, all those muscles just became weak so now my back and knees are currently destroyed. If I knew what I know now about calisthenics, I never would have done any of the things that I did before. I only work so hard because of the massive chip carved into my shoulder by all the people I've ever met who have told me that I'm worthless, will never be anything, can't compete, am not an athlete and am just a quitter. Living a life of proving people wrong isn't healthy at all and I don't recommend it to anyone, it's like knowingly injecting yourself with poison in the belief you'll become stronger, which doesn't happen.

Pushing myself as hard as I do and working myself into complete and total exhaustion is not for everyone and I don't recommend it, but if you find yourself struggling to breathe, feeling light headed or dizzy after doing any rigorous activities for extended periods of time, please stop and consider the food your eating, the amounts of water that you are drinking, your current physical condition and what a "good day" physically feels like, as well as doing some breathing exercises.

It doesn't mean your weak, it just means we live in a toxic society where almost literally all of our food is injected with high fructose corn syrup, which only sprang into existence within the last 80 years and was directly engineered to mimic the effects of cocaine on the brain. While that is only one hyper acute example, just stop to think historically about all previous human beings and then consider our current society and just how soft we have become. We are not weak, we are just soft from being slowly poisoned into complacency and now it is time to get hard and healthy.

As mentioned before, it is fully possible to work out in an unsafe manner, that being said, it's your body, figure out what is comfortable for you, push your limits as you feel necessary, but learn to stay within them and build up to pushing those limits responsibly.

Work through the following list of exercises, rest for 10 minutes then work through it again, rinse and repeat 10 times. Alternatively, pick your own series of exercises and move through them as you see fit, I simply recommend at the minimum picking 10x Exercises, performing each movement 10x times, resting for 10 minutes, then repeating the cycle two more times for a full string of 3 sets of 10 at a minimum.

Feel free to increase or decrease as you deem fit, all of this is simply about good habit building and little else. If you feel the need to assist yourself with an exercise for example propping your feet up on a couch or bed to do 90 degree crunches, feel free. No one is judging you, just make a note that it is a temporary state and make an effort to do unassisted versions of the same workout, planking or doing a wall sit for a long period of time can be hard. If you feel your body starting to tremble, don't feel bad, feel good, that trembling is your body getting stronger, the next time you do that same thing and your body doesn't tremble at the same point it previously did is called progress and is worth the pat on the back.

Everyone gets an A for effort, it's the progress that actually counts and only you can grade yourself.

Staying Hydrated with Water and Cutting Out Sugary Drinks

Make sure to drink plenty of water, I cannot stress this enough, it is fully possible to drink too much water, just stay well hydrated, before, during, after and just always in general. I would even go so far as to recommend drinking only water for a long period of time, if you drink coffee then take it black with no cream or sugar. This is because anything else irregardless of whether it states that it is a "diet" or "zero" calorie drink is lying to you. If there are added ingredients to water beside coffee or tea oils, those added ingredients must be processed or stored and in the case of sugar, will always be stored in the body which leads to long term weight gain over long term consumption.

Have you ever switched to a diet drink thinking it will help you lose weight only to find little to no change?

Have you ever had a rack of pork ribs that tastes corny?

That is because the pigs were being fed a high corn diet that may even be infused with high fructose corn syrups and that corn taste is the byproduct of their body processing a surplus of corn sugars.

If you would like to give yourself a scare test, sit down and do the math on the annual sugar consumption for any food item consumed daily, for most people it's either coffee stand coffee or energy drinks which are loaded with sugar even if they say "zero calorie" or "zero sugar", there is still sweetener and other chemical additives in the drink and the labeling is lying to you. If you don't believe me, cut out that single item and change little to nothing else about your diet and see just how big of an impact it has on your body weight 30, 60 and 90 days later.

Chances are you may lose between 10-30lbs, I lost 10lbs over a course of a few months just by not drinking a can of soda with dinner at night, now I only drink water, black coffee or tea and fizzy soda water burns my mouth from the carbonation while also just generally tasting gross.

Workout Snacking

The best snacks for working out are the simplest and they should always be small amounts of whole food items that are little nutrient and energy bombs for your body.

Hands down, nothing will ever beat Greek Yogurt, some whole oats, a dollop of honey and maybe a small pinch of brown sugar for flavor or some fresh berries. It's the classic parfait and has a complete balance of protein, healthy fat, probiotics and just enough natural sugars to keep you on your feet without being a complete splurge. This type of "snack" is typically my pre-workout breakfast since it's light, digests fast, gives immediate long lasting energy and is just good workout fuel. In terms of calories, depending on how conservative the person making the food is this type of snack should come out to roughly 250-500 calories, I use roughly a liquid cup of yogurt, about another liquid half of oats, maybe a liquid quarter of berries, a large spoonful of honey and literally a pinch of brown sugar if that. I'm not sure what that comes out to but I'd say somewhere in the 500 range.

Oatmeal might sound like old man's food but if you doctor it up is also delicious and nutritious.

During a working out, fresh fruit is an immediate must have, fruits produce sucrose chemicals which are naturally occurring sugar molecules that are different in structure from fructose or glucose as in high fructose corn syrup which is an engineered sugar molecule. Naturally sucrose as opposed to unnatural fructose is burnt for short term energy and not stored, while fructose is stored in fat for burning later which it then burns incredibly inefficiently. An incredibly large orange is roughly 80 calories or less, most of which is water, plant fiber, citric acid and some sucrose depending on how sweet it is. A very large banana is roughly 60-75 calories or less and consists of mostly plant fiber, water, potassium and sucrose.

Also by very large, I'm saying to imagine the largest possible version of the items that you've ever seen since everything else is less than those items. A regular sized apple is like 50 calories maybe and that would be eating everything but the seeds and stem. Of those calories maybe 5 come from the sugars in the fruit because there is a very low sugar to fruit ratio as opposed to items processed with sugar due to the science of saturation. Fresh fruit costs the body absolutely nothing to process and in return only gives back gains.

According to the sciences, protein should be consumed no less than 20 minutes after periods of exertion to see direct additive gains via the protein consumption. I would take this with many grains of salt, but it just means that generally the best way to end a work out session and see benefits from food consumption is to end the session with a high protein snack to help rebuild all the micro tearing in the muscles.

Personally speaking, an adult lunchable in the form of charcuterie items, these are a combination of sliced meats, cheese, nuts, dried fruits and or vegetable pairings with low salt crackers. Low salt crackers are generally recommended because the other items tend to be salty as is besides the vegetables so they make up for the lack thereof. Depending on the depth and diversity of the pairing it could be anywhere from a 100-500 calorie snack.

Mix, match, pair, contrast and play with the different flavor profiles, these are all super cheap snack options, even expensive deli meats are cheap when you only order .5-1oz which is about 2-4 slices depending on the deli. All of which are protein packed, relatively low calorie nutrient bombs, which also forms a set of food pairing skills that are excellent to have for parties and get together's. Nothing impresses people like a good charcuterie board...

In summary, this is not a diet plan, this does not replace 3 square meals a day, it is simply a recommendation of three different types of work out staples which are calorically anywhere from a total of a 500-1000+ calories depending on the portioning size, which are: low fat, high protein, high in dietary fiber and are also low in processed sugar but "high" in natural sugars.

These are simply suggestions for incorporating pre- and post workout snack ideas to keep people healthy, safe and energized. Feel free to deviate, substitute, duplicate, or make your own version, nothing beats an old school ham and cheddar sandwich or a well made salad.

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COMM-BB1FF2

The only true place to begin in a mastery of ones self is in the mind.

It is difficult to imagine or think about just how out of control the modern mind may be, while simultaneously being the easiest thing in the world to understand. Think of all the distraction, the noise, the chatter, the incessant sounds of society and then stop to ponder this:

If the mind is out of one's own control, then how can one control one's own mind; let alone, if ones own mind is out of their own control, how then can one attempt to guide themselves along the path of life with any success?

Often I day dream of drowning or being lost at sea, alone, afloat upon a shoddy raft assembled of the flotsam and jetsam that I have collected in an attempt to avoid drowning while being harried by sharks, storms, and all the perils of open water. Meanwhile I'm passed by other's, whose boats are boats and not shipwrecked components, they gather crews and flock in great fleets and generally pilot themselves through life in a better and easier manner, almost as if they were unaware we were even at sea or of its dangers to begin with.

This is the manifestation of my subconscious psyche lashing out at my own lack of control and what it really says, is that this is how I feel about my life. I am unsure of how other people feel about themselves but what I do know is this:

Life is a boat;
Pilot it.

A simple, but difficult truth to master, as well as, being easily lost or forgotten amongst the distractions of the modern world.

The best way to strip away these distractions is through meditation, which can be difficult, due to how out of control the human mind can be, much like attempting to wrangle a wild horse. Plato may have once said, "...I think, therefore I am...", but wiser words would have been "...I am not thinking, therefore I am..."

There are many different methods an descriptions, but the two key concepts that any and every one should learn are:

Contemplative or Empathic Meditation
Breathing and Moving Meditation

Contemplative or Empathic Meditation is good for many things, however, it's primarily best for attempting to develop nuanced perspective and for controlling an overactive imagination. However, while I called it Empathic Meditation it is important to divine that there is a concrete and fundamental difference between Thinking and Feeling and that while empathy is feeling and feelings are important and a good thing to have, it is important to not allow your mind to be ruled by your feelings and to think with your brain and not your heart.

Often our feelings tell us to do something for one reason or another while our brain will most definitively lead us in a better direction despite what our feelings may be telling us and this is very important to today's day and age. This is fundamentally important because everything in today's society is designed and developed specifically to gain control over your feelings and therefore your heart and be extension the mind, because the heart is far less heavily guarded and more easily penetrated than the mind.

Contemplative or Empathic Meditation is the extrapolation of reality, in an attempt to better understand actuality. For example, wake up early in the morning, before the sun has risen or more preferably just as it is about to rise, make a cup of tea, (my recommendation would be lemon ginger green tea with a dollop of honey, fill a large mug with hot water or pan with water, microwave or heat the water until it is just barely boiling but not quite, pour the water into the cup, add the honey, then dip the tea bag in and out of the water, the tea bag should fizz, once the fizzing stops, dispose of the tea bag) take your tea out in to the cold of the morning and watch the sunrise.

It takes roughly 8 minutes for the warmth of the sun to reach the planet and strike the cheek and in those 8 minutes, contemplate what it would be like to be a photon of light and a ray of warmth shot out from our flaming hydrogen sun. Imagine traveling through space, hurtling through the absolute vacuum of a desolate abyss, a thousand times further and faster than the human mind can possibly conceive as that photon of light is the microcosmic child to it's macro-cosmic parent.

Far flung and fast moving through an eternal void to strike the leaf of the tea which was made to warm the hands of the beholder. In the darkness before the 8 minutes that it takes to travel through space, imagine that the heat of the mug in your hands is the same as the heat coming through the sun while you wait; if you are cold take warmth from this heat as though you were heating yourself through the microcosm of the macrocosm, because you are.

As your mind travels the distance of space, think back in time, attempt to imagine the same photon of light traveling towards you is the kin of many others and those many others which were shot out in cold blooded astro-calculus all strategically fed and landed on not only the tea leaves in the tea bag, but the other spices and additives. Not just the leaves of the tea, but the hands and face of the person who picked them, bent backed and burnt, sweating their salt into the earth underneath the same sun that brought the sweet and soothing taste of the tea to your tongue. Imagine back as far and as thoroughly as possible as you wait in the cold darkness of the void between the Earth and the Sun, to be caressed by the same and only life giving force in our galaxy.

Imagine the making of the ceramic mug or the mining of the metal if it is is metal, image where the water might have come from, imagine the humming of the bees and all the fields of flowers that made the honey, imagine all aspects of the simple object in your hands which is the mug of tea which is complex enough to contain the entirety of the planet and the human race in the palm of your hand.

This is the heart of Contemplative and Empathic Meditation and it can be applied in many ways to anything and while it may be the heart of the concept, the true idea is to harness the mind by forcing it to travel in a controlled and constructive manner. To me, I believe this to be what is referred to as an Einsteinien Thought Experiment, except Albert Einstein would have been applying mathematical calculations to the photon of light as it traveled and indeed did, otherwise he would not have developed the theory of relativity.

In theory long term practice and application of Contemplative and Empathic Mediation is supposed to re-wire the brain in a beneficial manner and is simply just fun to practice. Give it a whirl and see how it alters your current perception and see if it doesn't highlight some things you maybe take for granted or would like to appreciate more. It might help plan an event, complete a project, provide some artistic inspiration or repair an old memory, the possibilities are endless.

Breathing and Moving Meditation is much simpler and ironically therefore difficult.

Firstly, Moving Meditation is the advanced form of breathing meditation and is something that we more than likely all experience subconsciously through certain soothing tasks that we enjoy. When people talk about "being in the flow" what they might be experiencing a state that should actually be referred to as moving meditation. It is a state one enters through rhythmic breathing while performing tasks with a present but empty-mindedness.

Breathing Meditation is the classically misinterpreted form of meditation in which one can imagine the stereo-typical trope of sitting cross-legged, back straight in a pose. The point being that some stereotypes exist for a reason, because breathing meditation involves sitting still, in a comfortable yet relaxed position, often crossed legged with their back straightened and taking deep breaths.

What the trope does not capture, is the true difficulty in silencing ones thoughts and mind, especially in a room full of like minded people being given instructions from someone that is in the end profiting off of your lack of control. It's really easy to sit in a room full of other people, do your thing, walk out and leave afterward and feel good about having gone, what isn't easy is gaining any actual or real benefit from the endeavor other than a personal pat on the back. The point being:

Peace will never be found through the those who instruct you on how to find it.

Yes, the irony of this is not lost on me, but I am not giving anyone instructions on how to find peace. Peace is an illusion because nature is violent, but violent nature is not natural even though there are violent acts of nature and therefore I'm freely offering a tool for taking back control of oneself if they haven't already found it, not giving instructions on how to find inner peace.

The true key to breathing meditation is learning to form ones will into a black cast iron hatchet in which they can split the trains of thought that barrel down the tracks of ones mind. My only advice is this:

Sit in a comfortable position, in comfortable and quiet space that is free of unnecessary distractions. Take deep breaths in through the nose, filling the lower diaphragm and then the lungs; breathing out slowly through the nose, with each breath in feel the tension in your body and with each breath out release the felt tension. Meanwhile block out any thoughts be forming your mind into that iron, train stopping wedge by focusing on the bodily tension and releasing that tension with every breath. Continue breathing until all of the tension has been released from the back, the face, the neck and anywhere else unnecessary tension has been located and well after you have become completely loose. Over time focusing and blocking out the unwanted thoughts will become easier and second nature to a mind out of control; however, it is easy to set the rampant train stations off again, which is the purpose of constant practice through moving meditation.

For anyone who doesn't know what breathing through your diaphragm feels like, its the area where getting hit in the gut hard enough will "knock the wind out of you". The diaphragm is located just below the center of the sternum and it is a breathing muscle that is little used which controls the access to your lower lung area and learning how to breath using it is key and vital for a lot of things. To practice the feeling of filling your lower lungs using your diaphragm, try laying down sucking air through your mouth like you were trying to suck a thick milkshake through a straw, the ballooning feeling in your mid chest area is your diaphragm and lower lungs filling with air, after which your upper lungs and chest will fill and rise.

Practice this same exercise and holding your breath then slowly exhaling it through the nose for a good breath strengthening exercise.

The important part to learning how to breathe, in through your nose and then slowly out your mouth. A fun fact about breathing through the nose is that our bodies actually produce natural nitrous oxide inside the nasal cavity, which could contribute to the feeling of giddy-ness from hyper-ventilating; and this natural nitrous oxide is good for us, otherwise our bodies wouldn't produce function in such a way. It can just be difficult to handle in high volumes by people who are unaccustomed to processing it. That is why trying to run and breathing only through your nose can be difficult for some people so they have to switch to mouth breathing.

The purpose of breathing out the mouth instead of the nose is simply for a more controlled, fully body exercise for releasing the lungs and makes for good practice during bodily exercise when one should be breathing in and out according to whether they are taking strain in or putting strain out.

Moving Meditation is simply, active breathing meditation while doing literally anything and going about ones daily life. For some people it might be washing dishes, for others it might be gardening, and yet others it could be going for a run, playing an instrument or any other myriad number of activities. The true to key to utilizing this state, is maintaining oneself in the present and not dwelling on the past or future, but only focusing on the task at hand and remaining free from worry or distraction.

True mastery of meditation eventually comes from the blending of all forms of meditation, due to the fact that one should be practicing their breathing while they ponder the vastness of space and time or performing any other contemplative exercise.

Be forewarned, this section gets a little weird...

Dietary Needs for Survival

The only real diet is a human diet, what that means is there is no real diet.

Watch any kind of survival show, especially a lot of them and find a common theme, which is that deprivation causes the human body to break down and when it does, it happens very quickly. A study of ancient culture, the evolution of the human race and general food requirements across the planet, will reveal that humans evolved to eat just about anything our stomach can successfully tolerate and extract some form of nutrition from. Circling back to the example of the survival shows, especially ones like Alone, they are playing out a starvation game where they essentially document their descent into malnutrition and starvation and the ones who do the best are the omnivores that eat any and everything they can successfully tolerate.

What this really means is that we evolved to be omnivores, and depending on our ancestral heritage, we evolved in different parts of the world, eating different but very similar types of food depending on the location and relation from one culture to one another. Despite this, the elements that all human body requires to survive are: water, protein, digestible fats and fiber, natural sugars, salt and micro nutrients.

Give a person all of these things in the appropriate proportions and they can indefinitely survive anywhere at any time. Deprive a human being entirely of just water and they will die within the week, deprive them of fats and protein and they will die within roughly 30 days, deprive them of vital nutrients and they will die within roughly 3 months, i.e. scurvy from lack of vitamin C. Research the history of Niacin and start checking ingredient labels since it is a nutritional fortifying agent used in almost all grain based products due to its absolutely vital role in maintaining a healthy population in cities.

For the most part it doesn't matter what, how or where we get these vital elements, as long as we get them on a regular, consistent and properly portioned basis.

Personally, I am supportive of a healthy omnivorous diet consisting primarily of whole food items and personally processed foods made from whole food items, i.e. making your own spaghetti sauce from scratch.

While it is possible to substitute animal for plant proteins and exist on a vegetarian or vegan diet, these types of diets are actually largely unhealthy without proper monitoring and maintenance through dietary tracking and supplementation. There are many semantic arguments and debates around plant versus animal based diets and to put things simply, if our ancestors survived by combining plants and animals in their diets and the human race evolved to be omnivorous, then we should still combine the best of both worlds and continue being omnivorous.

No Two Molecules Are Alike

The reason that I am supportive of maintaining an omnivorous diet is because no two dietary molecules are alike. Natural animal derived proteins, fats and micro-nutrients are complex molecular structures versus their naturally derived and simplified plant counterparts and these are even more different from their even more simplified pharmaceutical derivatives. Due to these differences the body also digests them differently, the more complex the molecule, the more complex the digestion process. This is why I'm a proponent for being an omnivore who consumes a healthy balance of whole food items as opposed to leaning into one single dietary realm because doing so requires research, monitoring and maintenance via supplementation in order to avoid long term malnutrition. If this wasn't the case, then our bodies wouldn't degenerate as a result of deficiencies.

The ultimate point here being that when it comes to dietary needs quality over quantity and a healthy balance of whole food items will always be the best and healthiest food option that anyone can opt for in regard to maintaining a balanced and healthy diet. The reason for this is because our bodies require more than supplementation or substitution and that we need a healthy balance of complex animal and simplified plant molecules in our diet to support a healthy digestion process. Ruminate animals that survive on plants alone have multiple stomachs or special digestive processes for a reason and is why ferment vegetable matters like kimchi or sauerkraut are preferable to their raw components because they come predigested for us.

Nutrient Quality Over Quantity

In general, when it comes to working out a high protein diet is always best, this is simply because our bodies use protein for building muscles and depending on the complexity and type of the fat consumption store fat for immediate energy usage or long term survival consumption. However, the human body requires the consumption of high quality fats in order to survive, our brain is made of fatty tissue and in order to properly function, it requires the continual consumption of high quality fats. Our body inherently stores fat as a safeguard against starvation which is a state the human body is evolved to defend against and is a large reason why most diets end up being fads and the reason people find themselves within the vicious cycle of weight fluctuation.

The solution being to maintain a healthy diet that is high in mixed proteins, dietary plant fiber, and medium amounts of high quality fats with a low but steady stream of naturally derived plant sugars. This is what whole foods are all about and why reducing the consumption of processed foods or anything with an ingredients list, is best for the human body and this simple change is really what leads to the best and healthiest version of anybody that they can be. This is because these foods are and will always be the highest quality source of nutrition that anybody can get and in regard to fruits and vegetables is why gardening is always the best source. Not everybody can raise chickens or source their own meat, but if you like to hunt or fish or know someone who does, the difference between wild and farmed meats is significant enough to raise some serious questions about how society should view the quality of our food supply.

This guide is a constant work in progress and more than a little weird, if you made it this far, I hope you enjoyed and thank you for the read.

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Keep an eye out for my guides across the rest of the Final Fantasy game line and other franchises such as Resident Evil, Grand Theft Auto and various other games like Sega's ultra horror survival game - Alien: Isolation, the Bards Tale by Tommy Tallerico Studios or Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic II (KOTOR II).

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