Introduction

America has a pretty badass image of itself. We’re pioneers. We’re cowboys. We’re trailblazers, astronauts, and adventurers. But if we take a collective look in the mirror, we can see that this image is, well, not exactly true anymore.

By and large, in this most blessed Year of Our Lord 2023 we aren’t any of those things. In fact, more than anything, we’re just large.

Like it or not, obesity has become a defining characteristic of America. We can imagine all day that Americans are the type of people who would hop on a horse, cross the plains, and build a cabin in the wilderness. But the reality is that a fair portion of our dear fellow citizens have trouble climbing the stairs without pausing, walking to the mailbox without labored breath, or even turning their heads to check their blind spots while driving.

It doesn’t have to be this way. The medical industrial complex, the media, the politicians, and the entire elite class want you fat, weak, and unhappy so you’re easier to control. Don’t let them. Get up. Eat better. Work out. Be happy.

And rediscover what it means to be an American. 

The Better Alternative

Beyond Dieting: Almost every person on earth is nutritionally deficient in some way because very few have a perfectly balanced diet. (How many foods have inositol and n-acetylcysteine anyway?) To correct that, shop through the supplements at Ascent Nutrition. Founded by a Health Science professional from the University of Iowa, the Ascent Nutrition team focuses on the keys to good health so your body can run most optimally. 

Super Foods: Our foods are manipulated in ways our predecessors would have never dreamed of. Our chicken breasts look like the roosters spent their time bench pressing in the prison yard before being slaughtered. Our tomatoes are bigger than baseballs while somehow being deprived of all taste. And, perhaps unsurprisingly, our food is less nutritious too. It seems like the bigger and more re-engineered our food gets, the less nutrient-rich it is. You can help correct this deficiency with Crucial Four. Created by a plant geneticist, these nutrition supplements promise to help reestablish a well-functioning metabolism, improve immune response, and increase your body’s ability to absorb the nutrients of the foods you eat.

For the Busy Gal: By now, most are aware that industrially produced seed oils and processed food filled with high-fructose corn syrup are a recipe for an early death. Real food is better. So if you’re trying to lose weight and keep it off, do it not with a diet, but with real nutrition. We recommend Busy Gal Nutrition. Food guides, healthy habits, nutrition coaching: Busy Gal Nutrition is run by aligned founder Laura Gaston, a registered dietitian who can help you shed the pounds.

Make It Personal: Keeping up a health and fitness routine is hard. There’s no denying it. That’s especially the case if you’re a busy parent or professional. Fitness Freedom Wellness offers personalized fitness and health training programs that can help you stay on track and reach your goals. Give it a try. After all, everyone needs accountability.

Business Spotlight

Wear something worthy of your workout—and worthy of yourself. Yakkem Apparel offers a great alternative to the sweatshop woke fitness clothing brands that are sold by most retailers, such as Adidas and Nike. Unlike the alternatives, the owners of Yakkem Apparel are vocally pro-God, pro-America, and pro-family all without sacrificing style, and they’re offering Align readers 15% off your purchase with the code Align15. 

If you can’t find what you’re looking for at Yakkem Apparel, Three Nails Clothing is another great option. They market themselves as a community of Christians who want to put God at the center of everything, including fitness. As Christians, they believe that everything they do should be the best, which is why their clothes are made with high-quality fabrics in a minimalist, non-kitschy style. Not to mention, a portion of every one of their sales goes toward ending sex trafficking

The Bigger Picture

Fun fact: In 1980 there were zero states with an obesity rate above 20%. By 2018, there were zero states with an obesity rate below 20%. What caused this? More importantly, what in our diets is actually causing harm, and what is just junk science? Mason Andrus at Return has some answers in his piece “The Normie Diet.”

“Though there is a lot of complexity to the science behind nutrition, the practice of eating well is simple…. If your calories in are less than calories out you’ll get weight loss. The rest is just about making sure you’re healthy and happy along the way. And that doesn’t have to involve the removal of the bad as much as the addition of the good.

“It’s not that attending to just seed oils will save you. It’s about paying attention to how your food makes you feel not so much just as you’re eating it but in the minutes and hours and days following. You don’t need to be obsessive to see benefits. You just need to be normal.”

Take a read to learn more about what a normie diet looks like.