CHEW ON THIS: There is no such thing as an obesity epidemic
A predominant part of leading & sustaining a healthy lifestyle is changing your mindset & being mindful.
As a public we have been brainwashed for years by television shows & untruthful food marketing and advertising about what we believe healthful eating & living should be; we have relied on these poor sources as our main source of nutrition & health education for our bodies, and today we are paying for it as a nation.
Look around you the next time you do a quick run to do errands, and simply be mindful about the % of people you see around you, adults and children, struggling with weight...the #'s are alarming. Compare this to what you saw 20, 10, even 5 years ago - there is undoubtedly a difference.
Being healthy & leading a healthy lifestyle first and foremost requires mindfulness and intention in every area of your life - it involves being in touch with how your body feels, do you feel stressed out about something? Is that why are you're eating that bagel, or are you TRULY hungry, does your body TRULY need those calories?
THINK PEOPLE THINK -- think and SET YOUR INTENTION constantly when it comes to nutrition. Don't eat mindlessly because you're at a conference or meeting and just because food sits on the table and it looks good, then you have to eat it? No you don't - ask your body first, am I hungry? Think about the time you last eat, is it truly time to eat again or will you be mindlessly consuming needless calories if you indulge?
As Americans we let our feelings & gratifications dictate our lives way too often - I want, I want, I want...and sadly we carry this poor attitude right over into food.
This comes into play just as much in our physical health and food today than ever before. The bigger, better, faster attitude of Americans has finally taken it's toll on our public health as a nation and it's got to stop. Eating should not be 110% of the time about pleasure and indulgence, we need to change our mindset as a country to understand that food is a way we honor the earth and land as we produce it, and honor our bodies and health and minds as we consume it in order to be prepared to live life to the fullest.
That said, here is a thought I think everyone in this country needs to hear: there is no such thing as an obesity epidemic; there is an over-feeding epidemic; a lack of quality nutrient food sources epidemic; & a lack of physical activity epidemic in this country - obesity is merely a symptom of these larger problems.
Branding the public health problem as an obesity epidemic merely pervades the incorrect mindset that health is not each individual's personal responsibility and it is out of their control, when in fact it is very much in their control, there are just those sadly that have not done yet what it takes to control it.
Kudos to those who have; it now becomes our job to pass on the invaluable lesson and MINDSET of a healthful life to those who haven't yet made this same discovery.
In health,
Wellcoaches LWC Trainee, Group Wellness Coach, NASM CPT, BA Psychology
You & Improved Coaching
"Revitalizing Wellness in Health & Home"
www.youandimprovedcoaching.com
healthmatters.vox.com/
hdube@youandimprovedcoaching.com | 408.667.7551
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"Give a man a fish; you have fed him for today. Teach a man to fish; and you have fed him for a lifetime." - Lao Tz
“Only as high as I reach can I grow, only as far as I seek can I go, only as deep as I look can I see, only as much as I dream can I be.” – Karen Ravn
Comments
With that said, it's the lack of education and understanding of what the body truly needs to be healthy, especially good information on what nutrition really is and how the body uses it.
People can get very apathetic when they've tried to "be healthy" but they have tons of false data getting in their way and they don't get good results from their efforts.
Conventional doctors are not trained in nutrition at all and we've been indoctrinated to believe what they say is the absolute truth!
Well, after a stroke and a heart attack and the development of congestive heart failure, I got fed up with all the drugs. I wasn't getting healthier AT ALL so I immersed myself into finding what truly works to improve health and energy!
Because I feel that many people will take responsibility for their condition and improve it if they have the right information and tools, I share my discoveries and successes in improving my own health at http://www.improvinghealthandenergy.com
Thanks for listening!
Cheers,
BB
I'm so sorry you had to bear such health hardships, but usually that is what drives us to question and care for our wellness. I had some rare health conditions come on at the young age of 19 as well, and I'm so glad for it now in hindsight as it started me on my wellness journey and passion for this field.
I disagree with you on your point if most had the right information they would do what it takes to be healthy - for example, most people know if they clean up their diets and eat 'cleaner' they will lose weight and it will help thier overall health, and yet most that are severely obese would rather have their health insurance policy pay for a gastric bypass out of the taxpayers pockets so they can just get thinner in the quickest manner possible, without doing it the right way b/c they sincerely don't want to do the work it requires in terms of stopping eating and drinking all the junk, pouring loadsof sugar in their bodies, and getting more active.
On the average what I find being a wellness coaches, and many other wellness coaches in the profession, that people in general know what they need to do inherently to be healthy - they know that they can't eat McDonald's a few times a week, that they need to get more exercise, eat more vegetables, etc., but they have mental and emotional blocks that need to be removed to get them on the right path - and unless they have the accountability of having a coach, someone to commit to goals with and check in with on a regular basis, they will not do the work OR they will do some of the work on their own, but will relapse and won't sustain the weight they lost.
I wish it were not this way, but it is most definitely the case. 50% of clients that come into personal training alone do not sustain their weight loss and gain it back; 80-90% of those that add in a coaching element, where the coach walks them through the process of learning how to achieve this on their own, do manage to sustain it. Like you said on your website, it's the difference b/t give a man a fish & teach a man to fish.
In health,
Heather