Prince Charming and I stopped at Frye’s (Super humumgo electronics shop that I refuse to go into because it is way too ridiculously big and, more importantly, it has a restaurant inside (come on!!!) so they won’t take pets in the store (makes it way easy for me to choose Best Buy which does allow Boop-a-doo in the store)) on our way home from the beach (Wonderful!). I just read that sentence over and it is soooo packed with brackets it is hard to follow … hope that you’re up to the challenge.
Anyway, while I was sitting in the parking log waiting with Boop-a-doo in the convertible (not hardship duty a
s I had a crossword to tie my brain up around) I saw a couple and their twin toddler girls and it gave me pause. The dad was huge (at least over 300 lbs) and the mom was even bigger (probably upper 300s). The little toddler girls couldn’t be more than 15 months old and were just cute buttons in their little matching outfits. It broke my heart to think that these little girls, so full of promise for the future, are probably going to end up as fat little girls probably sooner rather than later. What made me sadder was that their parents were so big that they probably won’t be around or around and healthy when the girls are teens. It wouldn’t surprise me to learn that the parents had all sorts of weight-related medical conditions (dare I use the term “Metabolic Syndrome”?) and are probably spending a ton every month on medications.
If we imagine the best that this couple are (is the correct grammar here to say is?) terrific, loving parents that provide a wonderful home for their little girls will they be around to actually see them grow up? And if we imagine that they are currently feeding their toddlers healthy food how long will it be before that changes? Before they are getting too big portions and not enough exercise? Before their diet isn’t all peas and carrots and squash? Where will their good diet and exercise example come from? What will stop them from just gaining and gaining? How hard will it be for them to learn healthy eating habits later? How hard will it be for them to lose their weight before they have their own children? How many medications will they be taking by the time they are in college? It's really scary!!
When I watch the show Biggest Loser and see the young 19 year old who has already lost 120 lbs (YES – 120 LBS of FAT) in 9 weeks and still has at least 100 lbs to go!! (That's him in the picture) When I watch You: Staying Younger and see a couple with 68% body fat, a 49” waist, and blood test levels through the roof. When I go to the mall or a store or a restaurant and see that over 50% of the people that I run into aren’t just overweight but outright fat it just depresses me especially when I see so many young boys and girls, teens, and pre-teens with rolls of fat and obvious weight issues. And it depresses me even more that in Texas people are somehow proud of their obesity. It is somehow validating of themselves as Texans (BIGGER is BETTER) and a way to "weigh-in" with their prosperity. This is a totally fraked (can you tell that I have been watching Battlestar Galactica for 3 days!) up attitude!!!
I know that I have my own body image issues and weight issues. I know that I don’t eat the way that I “should” eat for my best health. I know that I don’t exercise enough for my best health. I know that I don’t take my vitamins regularly and I know that it is damn hard to shed pounds. I know how hard it can be to change habits. I know how challenging it can be to exercise or eat
healthy when it is so much easier and “funner” to eat ice cream or chocolates or fried chicken or pizza and sit around with a good book.
It IS challenging! It does take work! But I also know that I work on it! I work on it! And I work on it some more! Every day!
The question that we each have to ask ourselves is “What is our life worth?” Is eating a salad every day worth 5 years of productive life? Is the prospect of being a healthy active 85 year old worth exercising every day? If you knew ABSOLUTELY that eating that fried chicken today would directly result in a heart attack in 5 years would you still eat it? What if you didn’t know which fried chicken (name your poison … it doesn’t have to be fried chicken) would do it?
The biggest challenge is that it all doesn’t seem real, at least to me. I “know” the facts but I can’t necessarily grasp the “reality” of my old age and what that might look like if I eat ice cream today over spinach salad. I guess it all comes down to faith. Do I have faith (backed up by a lot of medical science) that it is going to make the difference? I guess that I do, sorta, kinda … I wish that it was more believable (NO that doesn’t mean that I hope that I get some sort of personal medical issue to “prove” it to me) because it would make it all a little easier.
Perhaps my issue is really that I often look at the food issues as “sacrifices”. Just as with the couple I was trashing earlier I find it a challenge to give up some of the “goodies”. I know, I know! I don’t have to give them all up. I know all those things but it still seems like sacrifices sometimes. I definitely also know that this is an extremely limiting belief. However, sometimes "knowing" something doesn't make you actually choose it or want to.
I will plug away at it all though. I recognize that I have made huge strides towards health and a healthy lifestyle. I recognize that I am making lifestyle changes and little-by-little the small changes that I make every day will gradually make huge changes later. I recognize that ANYTHING that I do to improve my health and fitness is infinitely better than doing nothing. I recognize that this is the only course that I have available to me if I want a long, healthy and productive old age. And that folks makes it ALL worthwhile after all!
Thanks for indulging my rambling today! I’d love to hear your thoughts on it all.
Have a succulent salad-filled day!
Ella
