Two studies out today that draw the same disturbing conclusion americans are not
winning their battle against obesity a new report released by the centers for disease control finds
the obesity epidemic has grown rapidly over the past several years face it we're getting fat
in fact it's so bad some call it an epidemic.
Recently, I took a chance and watched a little known pod caster without the use of the devils
lettuce *rogan screaming* and I overheard an important message there. Something through all
that noise that I wanted to discuss with you. A topic that hits close to my heart from my years
in healthcare and Something that most people lie to themselves about. Their physical health.
There is so much going on today that demands our attention that we often put ourselves last,
we neglect our health just to spill over and over into those next jean sizes until
we feel like there is no possible road back to a sensible weight. It’s difficult to even create a
starting point for this video directing at you the viewer who may be at an unhealthy weight
or maybe simply someone who wants to improve themselve but doesn’t know where to start.
So, I want to begin by taking a personal and honest inventory: We can do this by simply asking,
am I overweight? At some point have I promised myself that I would eat better, told my spouse
that we should join a gym? Have I asked myself the question: How healthy am I right now?
Does it feel daunting to get started? I understand,
I get it. Life happens but then there's this.
Obesity levels across the world are at new records and quite literally half the North American
population will become obese by the end of this decade.This ridiculous outcome will wreck our
bodies, drain our taxes and cripple our medical infrastructure. If you weren’t convinced before,
Covid-19 has eloquently highlighted how your weight directly affects
how vulnerable you are to illness and an early death.
Simply put: For us to go through life without trying to maintain our best
physical and mental health is just silly. (Joe rogan “its just silly”).
Unfortunately for us, there are more pitfalls on the road to good health than there should be.
Despite now being a multi billion dollar a year industry,
the business of Health and wellness might not have your best interest in mind.
There is no shortage of a holes, scammers and charlatans who only care about their bottom line,
their generic program or their new absurd weight loss product.
This confounds our start to better health and often presents confusion for the uninitiated,
These distractrations dissuade people from what might actually help them achieve better shape
on their road to an improved quality of life.
With that said, let's be clear, I am not a nutritionist or personal trainer.
This video is intended as a start those of us who aren’t convinced that we can make our health
a priority in our busy life. For those people who don’t believe they can make that healthy weight,
develop tone, muscle or otherwise just have no idea where or how to begin.
I would like to offer and share my advice as a health care provider,
collected from nearly two decades of experience around patients that were
overweight, obese or had injuries from which their weight was a contributing factor.
Don’t worry, You wont need to take notes and I can
put inspirational music in the background if it helps.
Cool, to get started: Lets look at some ideas on how to Manage your (1)nutrition
and dietary intake. Then the importance of(2)eating better when and however you can
and finally the last key peice is include some (3)form of exercise.
Preferably a mix of cardio and weight training. That's largely it,
everything else out there is fancy dressing designed to get you to buy something.
So If you think you have made an attempt similar to this in the past but feel that you have failed,
I will ask you to re-evaluate what success looks like. This in no way is meant to be a race with a
start and finish, it truly is a lifelong journey, to be built over time and which includes a very
slow, even methodical ramping process. There were several times on my own personal journey where I
thought I piqued, only to break through in some way, even if it was just a small improvement.
Managing these aspects along with our busy schedules can be a struggle. That doesn’t mean you
failed, remember this is a trial and error process and too often, most of us simply fail to begin
any real effort at all. This is the only time I would consider someone's poor health to be a true
failure. If you have made a real effort to change, you have already begun the road to better health.
This self realization is the best point to start your journey. We will have to continually adjust
the energy, time and yes, money we divide into these (3) facets of your day to day.
Know this: There will never be the perfect time to start
and committing to this decision will be one of the most difficult steps you will need to make.
(1) In a perfect world regulating our nutritional needs would be as easy as
managing your calories in against your calories burnt but the rat race of life gets a vote
and it's too easy to overeat, binge and fill our bodies with poor choices.
The recommend daily calories for an adult sits between 2 and 3 thousand. (Show nutrition of a
burger and maybe calorie count of food pops out when bat hits) You can ravage this paltry figure
with a single meal from your favorite fast food chain (show bat beating the burger caloric count).
To make this worse is the fact that most corporations don’t want you to understand
how unhealthy their food is. Its regular practice to omit caloric stats from the
menu while offering supersize amounts for a few pennies more or presenting
fast meals as an easy option for a “healthy alternative” when in fact it is everything but.
The biggest of these Greedy and harmful decisions occur at the
highest levels of government where money is put before the welfare of
entire countries. (Patriot act montage) This Commits our fight to an uphill battle.
So, let's be clear. A healthy lifestyle doesn’t mean you can never touch your favorite junk
food again but it does mean you need to be smart when and how often you visit that drive through.
A single burger won't make you big in the same way a single salad won't make you skinny.
Consistency is key.
To remove a poor junk food habit from your life,
I highly suggest looking for those ways you can jazz up healthier options. Raw Broccoli and
Cauliflower? Nah, try steamed and seasoned roasted vegetables with a serving of protein. (Nice* clip)
Since the start of my journey into fitness I have spent a countless amount of time
and effort searching for healthier options for meals and snacks,
only to later trade these off for an upgrade down the road. This could mean reducing salt,
sugar and trans fat or choosing an option that makes me feel full faster.
This doesn't need to be expensive either, Yogurt and fruit, cottage cheese and cucumber
or a shake with a spoonful of delicious peanut butter may soon be the new snacks you crave.
Train your mind to recognize healthier options as an alternative and your body will follow :
(2) What do I mean by eating better when and how you can?
Well, our schedules often confound our ability to eat regular meals and without
a little experience in preparation we can be led to poor decisions.
Learning to train your body to eat at designated times is difficult but equally important.
Regular eating times will allow your body to anticipate meals and prevent you from
bad choices on the go. It will also help you from eating too late in the day when you don’t mean to.
This doesn’t need to be complicated, assuming you are following rule 1 and keeping caloric intake
near or below what you are burning. If you need ideas, look into the many certified nutritionists
that offer simple meal plans and prep ideas. This step will get easier as you move along,
your body does adapt and with a consistent longer term adoption of healthy eating, you will find
that those old dinner portions or fast food meals will become an uncomfortable amount of food.
If your lifestyle requires you to snack and move, I get that,
Shift work has its set of unique challenges. To make all of your effort worthwhile, you will need
to adopt some balance of nutritional planning, healthy snacks and commitment to regularity.
The goal is not to starve yourself but to transition to healthier foods that keep you
full while allowing you to turn the needle back with a little help. .
(3) (a little help) Like we discussed,
it can be so difficult to start eating healthy when you don’t have the experience,
even more difficult with a sedentary lifestyle. This can then seem almost impossible when you
don’t make up for any of this with a mentality that moves you toward personal exercise.
Luckily, no one needs a furnished home gym to produce real results,
You don’t need to bench press your weight to develop your physique and the age old comment
that you don’t want to look bulky holds no water against you beginning light weight training.
Presenting yourself with daily challenges will often be enough for most beginners.
Try adding a small weight to your backpack, stand and stretch while watching tv and
consider a standing desk so you can include light activity while you work. The possibilities are
endless. The great news is that, the bigger you are, the more likely you are to see early results.
When you have begun locking down your nutritional needs with healthy meal plans,
you will find even the smallest physical exercise will carry you into a caloric deficit territory.
So, Bike to the local market and yes, take the stairs at work.
At some point it becomes a game of numbers you play against yourself and when you no
longer eat your entire dietary need in a single sitting, its easy to chip away at what's left.
The bottom line here in my rant to reduce our growing overweight population is simply that,
this can be easier than you believe. Success takes time and your expectations
are almost as important as your goals because they are intertwined.
None of this will happen quickly,
its an investment. You put in the time and effort and one day, down the road
you hope to catch yourself in better shape. Start small and find realistic goals.
At some point we have all fallen prey to the scale and the mirror but ultimately
these are misleading platitudes. A journey takes time and for you dear viewer,
I hope the day will come where you can look back at yourself and realize no matter how
far you’ve come, that not starting to take care of yourself was a very bad, no good decision.