I feel pretty certain that most of you can relate to having someone in your life who holds you back, who gets in the way of every good plan or intention you may have. Obviously this type of thing can play out in all aspects of life but were going to talk about it in regards to health and fitness. This is a fairly common problem when someone decides to make healthy lifestyle choices and better him or herself and it is very frustrating.
You know what I mean, don’t you? There’s the friend you tells you it is all right for you to skip your workout and go to happy hour instead. There is the spouse who prefers sitting around the house instead of going for walks, who brings ice cream and cookies home or always wants to go out to eat. There is the sister or brother who will tell you what you are doing is ‘stupid’.
The sad fact of the matter is this; there are lots of people out there who are overweight and out of shape and not interested in expending the energy to do anything about it. They want to bring you down with them, it’s the whole ‘misery loves company’ mindset. Maybe it makes them feel a little better about themselves if you are right there with them or possibly even better if you are more out of shape then they are. This is all very sad but we all know there is truth to it. They want to sit around and do nothing and they want you to sit around with them.
I’m no psychologist but I imagine another reason that the people in our lives act this way is because of fear. They fear you will change and that the new and improved you will not want to spend time with them anymore. Your first reaction to that may be to think that that is ridiculous and it would not happen but it depends on the relationship. If spending time with someone means going out to eat burgers and drink beer then you really may not want to spend time with them anymore.
When you really start to embrace a healthy lifestyle with good nutrition and exercise you feel so great and you may really start to think twice before you do things that will sabotage that great feeling. Let’s be honest nobody feels great after wings and beer. So, believe it or not, if you really want to make permanent healthy lifestyle changes than some relationships will either have to change or be left behind.
In the beginning it is challenging to adopt a new lifestyle and what you need from the people you surround yourself with is support, not sabotage. After you get used to your new lifestyle you will feel so good and have so much energy that you will not want to do things that will take away from that great feeling. There are going to be people who just don’t get it and that is that. They may make fun of you or fear that you’ve changed. Let them know that if they really cared about you they would be happy that you are taking good care of yourself and not be bringing you down. If they can’t be supportive than you have a decision to make, don’t you?
Don’t get me wrong we all indulge from time to time, that is life, but it should not be a constant thing and it does not have to be the center of our social activities. It is that mindset that has gotten this society in the terrible state of health we are in.
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Monday, July 9, 2007
The Tragedy of Childhood Obesity
Childhood obesity; it’s a subject that is constantly in the news and on many people’s minds. You can’t help but notice it. On any given day you are bound to see many overweight children, some severely overweight. I just cannot get my head around it. I don’t understand how it can be this way and constantly be getting worse.
But then I happened by a special on the television last week. The show was a forum on childhood obesity. There was a panel of professionals. There were doctors, nutritionists, exercise physiologists and dieticians. Everyone was voicing their concerns with just how serious the problem of childhood obesity has become and all of the horrible health consequences these children are facing and are likely to face as they get older. Sounds like a good show, right? Well, I could not help but notice that overwhelmingly the conversation turned to what the government and the food manufacturers and the community, etc. can do to fix it. I was waiting for them to suggest aliens come down from outer space and solve the problem.
They talked about the absence of gym classes in some schools, the quality of food served in school cafeterias, the absence of government programs educating the public on health. These things may be true but where is the talk about what is going on in the home. Why does it seem that people don’t want to address the role of the parents? Does it go against political correctness to do so?
When I think back to when I was young, a child’s exercise did not come from the gym class they took, it came from being active when we weren’t in school whether that be sports, the playground or just playing out in front of the house. Often these days people will say it is not safe for kids to go out and play, well whatever happened to watching your kids play or playing with them or taking them to a playground? It’s just one more excuse.
As for the food in the cafeteria, it was no different than it is today; in fact it was probably worse since some schools have begun to make improvements. Of course if you really think your child’s health if suffering because of cafeteria food than why don’t you pack them a lunch instead of waiting for things to change? And education, well we know much more these days about health and fitness than we did in previous generations. So why is it that personal responsibility is not even on the table when it comes to these discussions. I literally could not believe what I was hearing on this show.
There were parents of obese children on the show and not one of the panel members had the idea to say, get the junk out of your house, feed your children nutritious food and go out and move with your kids. It is easier to say that parents are too busy and don’t have the time to cook than to say that if you’re a parent than part of being a good parent is to provide healthy meals. There are many busy, working parents who cook for their kids. This is just one more excuse in a sea of excuses that people use. We want to blame McDonalds and we want to blame the hydrogenated fats in the prepackaged foods that are in the grocery stores because then we don’t have to put the blame where it belongs, with ourselves. We need a wake up call and we need it quickly.
But then I happened by a special on the television last week. The show was a forum on childhood obesity. There was a panel of professionals. There were doctors, nutritionists, exercise physiologists and dieticians. Everyone was voicing their concerns with just how serious the problem of childhood obesity has become and all of the horrible health consequences these children are facing and are likely to face as they get older. Sounds like a good show, right? Well, I could not help but notice that overwhelmingly the conversation turned to what the government and the food manufacturers and the community, etc. can do to fix it. I was waiting for them to suggest aliens come down from outer space and solve the problem.
They talked about the absence of gym classes in some schools, the quality of food served in school cafeterias, the absence of government programs educating the public on health. These things may be true but where is the talk about what is going on in the home. Why does it seem that people don’t want to address the role of the parents? Does it go against political correctness to do so?
When I think back to when I was young, a child’s exercise did not come from the gym class they took, it came from being active when we weren’t in school whether that be sports, the playground or just playing out in front of the house. Often these days people will say it is not safe for kids to go out and play, well whatever happened to watching your kids play or playing with them or taking them to a playground? It’s just one more excuse.
As for the food in the cafeteria, it was no different than it is today; in fact it was probably worse since some schools have begun to make improvements. Of course if you really think your child’s health if suffering because of cafeteria food than why don’t you pack them a lunch instead of waiting for things to change? And education, well we know much more these days about health and fitness than we did in previous generations. So why is it that personal responsibility is not even on the table when it comes to these discussions. I literally could not believe what I was hearing on this show.
There were parents of obese children on the show and not one of the panel members had the idea to say, get the junk out of your house, feed your children nutritious food and go out and move with your kids. It is easier to say that parents are too busy and don’t have the time to cook than to say that if you’re a parent than part of being a good parent is to provide healthy meals. There are many busy, working parents who cook for their kids. This is just one more excuse in a sea of excuses that people use. We want to blame McDonalds and we want to blame the hydrogenated fats in the prepackaged foods that are in the grocery stores because then we don’t have to put the blame where it belongs, with ourselves. We need a wake up call and we need it quickly.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
