You say my waist size is what?

Bad news people.  Maybe you already know this tidbit of information, but on the other hand, maybe you are lost in the haze of your surroundings.  Let me explain.  If everyone you know drinks bottled water, then yes, you too are more likely to drink bottled water.  I’m not citing any expensive studies here, I’m just using common sense.  If everyone you know is technically obese, then you too are more likely to be obese.  And that’s the problem.

Obesity: it’s a serious topic afterall.  It’s our health, our longevity we are messing around with, and when we DON’T think we are obese when we obviously are, then that’s a problem.

I am obese.  I actually put a picture of me in this article.  Can you tell?  Or…do I look normal?  I weigh 205 and am a hair shy of 6 foot tall.  I have a medium muscle build.  Still think I’m normal?  Right!  You now think I’m in great shape, don’t you?

Let’s just say that I bet this little experiment proved my point.  If we all look the same, that becomes “normal”.  Now, before you leave a comment telling me I’m nuts to say I’m obese, read on…but I know you want to say that, right?

The proof is in the pudding, they say, and I filled out a health assessment last night.  One of the questions was to fill in my waist size.  I was 30 inches in High School and I’m now wearing 36 inch jeans comfortably.  I’m guessing my waist is around 35 inches.  The form says to measure my waist just above my hips (which is about an inch below my belly button).  I’m thinking this isn’t fair.  My waist is where my pants sit.  Nope.  Keep reading, this gets humorous.

So, I dig out a sewing kit measuring tape, you know the kind that is flexible.  I measure at the correct location and I have a 40.5 inch waist.  I immediately think of the old days when I thought it was funny looking at 40 inch waist jeans on the racks in department stores.  So, I think I’ll just BEAT this test.  I’ll measure my “waist” where my pants sit.  That’ll make me feel better.  Hmmm, 40 inches.  Okay, they got me.

So, do you still think I’m NOT obese?  I have a 40 inch waist.  Would you tell anyone that has a 40 inch waist that they are in great shape?  Be real, please!

I’ve lost about 20 pounds over the last few months, and I wonder what my waist was back then when I was near 225.  My goal is to get back down to my “fat” weight of around 180.  I say “fat” because when I hit 180 my sophomore year at Purdue I…felt…miserable…wonder why?  Because I was FAT!  I was 165 when I graduated High School and that weight is unrealistic since I’ve “bulked up” since those days.  I figure 180 will be optimal athlete weight for me.

So, get our that ruler or measuring tape and tell me how in shape you are!!!!  If you still feel the urge to tell me that I look great and am not obese, you need to look in the mirror and realize you are trying to justify how you look.  I want to encourage you to “BE REAL” and take stock in your health.  The sooner you get healthy, the more productive and joyful your life may become.  180, here I come!

The Battle of the Bulge of Stupidity

As I recall my day of stuffing a hastily made ham sandwich into my mouth I started thinking about some key issues we all should think about right now!

First, we don’t spend any time preparing or planning for the food we are going to eat.  And we complain about being unhealthy and fat.

Second, we eat crap.  And we complain about being unhealthy and fat.

We need a plethora of services, yes, because we are unhealthy and fat.  More, and better healthcare, larger airplane seats (true), restrictions on rollercoaster’s due to the common potential for people to be too big (I witnessed an embarrassed man NOT be able to ride The Racer at King’s Island last week).  How much more evidence and how many more “wake up calls” do we need?

Are you one of those people like me that look at the BMI (Body Mass Index) and think it must be wrong?  Do you REALLY think you have THAT much muscle under all the fat?  Get real.  Here’s your wake up call.  Most of us think we are an anomaly, and we think we really AREN’T fat!  Funny huh?

Here’s a sure fire way to tell if you are fat.  Can you pinch an inch?  You remember this little rule of thumb from years ago, right?  Come on, can you?  Grab your belly, and if you can pinch an inch you are fat.  No need for BMI or body fat percent.  Now you know the truth.  All of America is so fat, that we think someone who is healthy is skinny (true).  I remember when I lost 30 pounds a few years ago people at first thought I was so skinny.  I could STILL pinch about 3 inches people!

So, I’ll get back to the top two issues.  If we don’t spend any time considering what we are going to eat and what the ramifications will be on our bodies, then we have nothing to complain about.  Period.  If we eat crap, our health and our bodies will BE crap.  Recall, “You are what you eat”.  If you eat fast food, then you will have a fast body – ha ha, that’s a joke to see if you’re still reading.

In summary, stop complaining and start preparing.  Eat real food a while and see if your body doesn’t start to think it isn’t so bad.  End the days of feeling bloated and having gas pain.  Eat a good breakfast, you know, a fried egg with some peppers, a small bowl of fruit and toast or an omelet.  Eat one steak or chicken laden salad a day; eat some whole grain bread, maybe a piece of fruit, some nuts and one scoop of ice cream.  Eat a small dinner.  See how ya feel.   You won’t be disappointed.  I’ve been there.  I don’t like being in the bulge of stupidity.  If we choose to NOT make food a priority we will continue to reside in the bulge of stupidity.

Acknowledgements:

Image: Michelle Meiklejohn / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Common Sense Healthcare

From an article written by John Mackey in the Wall Street Journal.

Rather than increase government spending and control, we need to address the root causes of poor health. This begins with the realization that every American adult is responsible for his or her own health.

Unfortunately many of our health-care problems are self-inflicted: two-thirds of Americans are now overweight and one-third are obese. Most of the diseases that kill us and account for about 70% of all health-care spending—heart disease, cancer, stroke, diabetes and obesity—are mostly preventable through proper diet, exercise, not smoking, minimal alcohol consumption and other healthy lifestyle choices.

Recent scientific and medical evidence shows that a diet consisting of foods that are plant-based, nutrient dense and low-fat will help prevent and often reverse most degenerative diseases that kill us and are expensive to treat. We should be able to live largely disease-free lives until we are well into our 90s and even past 100 years of age.

Here’s the link to the complete article. It’s a very informative and logical read.

I’ve been ranting for years that, surely, it can’t be that hard to eat well.

“Hey let’s get fat and that way we can stick it to the man!”

Trans Fat

Yes, I know trans fat is old news, but had to mention something I just noticed.  I think most of us already know that the amount of trans fat listed on the food labels is misleading due to serving size…if there is less than .5 grams of trans fat in a serving it’s listed as ZERO and the food is advertised as having “NO TRANS FAT per serving!”  Notice that “per serving” clarification.  Kind of feels like being lied to doesn’t it?

Well, the reason for this post…I just happened to take a look at butter in the store today and over the weekend while buttering up some rolls.

My findings:

1) I Can’t Believe it’s not Butter says it has NO TRANS FAT, but it’s ingredients list partially hydrogenated and hydrogenated oil.  Ummm, that’s pure trans fat people!  BZZZZZZ

[I Can’t Believe this stuff will kill me]

2) Olivio sure sounded like a good idea, BUT…. ingredients include partially hydrogented soybean oil!  Yep, trans fat!  BZZZZ

3) Country Crock Shedd’s Spread is full of trans fat with partially and fully hydrogenated oils!  BZZZZ

I’m not saying that these brands don’t make a truly trans fat free product (I don’t know), but I didn’t see it.

A safe choice I have used for years is anything made by Smart Balance. 

In the end, the best thing to do is simply read the ingredients!

Remember, food manufacturers play by different rules.  Here’s the answer straight from Country Crock’s website FAQ:

How can a product contain no trans fat and still have partially hydrogenated vegetable oil in the ingredients?

Partially hydrogenated vegetable oil describes a broad range of oils with varying degrees of hydrogenation or hardening. The trans fat levels in these oils can vary from very little to higher amounts.
A very small amount of partially hydrogenated oil may be used in a product to provide structure and texture. Products which contain a small amount of trans fat (amounts less than 0.5 g per serving) can be labeled, according to the Food and Drug Administration’s nutrition labeling guidelines, as 0 g trans fat per serving.

Poverty in the U.S.A

I don’t know why these thoughts entered my head of late, but here goes.  I have thought about the log in my own eye and I feel I have worked on the problems I deal with myself, like losing weight, eating right, stopping drinking much, if any, alcohol, not smoking, and going to the doc for regular check-ups.  It occurred to me that we are in a downward spiral that can ONLY get worse if we do not change as a society.  Poverty creates poverty.  I don’t mean to pick on or make fun of nor talk down to anyone.  To me, we are all equal in the eyes of God and Jesus notes that the meek will inherit the earth.  So NO DISRESPECT INTENDED!  These are just observations.

1.  Why does it seem that those that are poor are also those that also spend a lot of money on cigarettes?

2.  This being said, we know those that smoke a lot tend to be more unhealthy and thus have greater medical expenses.

3.  With the greater medical expenses along with the high cost of cigarettes, there is less money to eat well or actually “get out of the rut” in many cases.

 4.  When someone with no insurance goes to the hospital, those with insurance pay for it either through increased premiums or taxes.

5.  When people have to pay more for insurance or taxes, some percentage falls into poverty that was not in that bracket before.

6.  The cycle repeats until we have the RICH, the POOR and those that will soon be POOR.  You may not think you are rich, but in the grand scheme of things, if you have a computer at home and an internet connection, you are probably rich with respect to those that are in poverty.

I make these observations after driving around town and seeing just about everyone that appears to be living in poverty smoking.  I ask myself, did smoking lead to poverty in some way, or did poverty lead to smoking?  I don’t know, but there sure seems to be a link.  I would also argue that our societal “me first” attitudes lead to poverty as well, maybe even more so than health costs.  More on that later.

I must also note that many that live in poverty have lost hope.  Hope for a future that is different or a future that matters.  Many question why they are even alive.  This is where I feel Christians have failed to do all we can.  Now, I know plenty of RICH people smoke and also have good insurance, but I would argue that this lifestyle still increases insurance premiums to EVERYONE since costs do get spread around to everyone that shares your insurance plan.  Again, if costs go up, more people will fall into poverty.

We could also argue that abuse of alcohol, drugs and many others factor create a similar trend.  We could argue that these other self abuses also lead to increased poverty and also could be a symptom of a loss of hope.  Obviously, there is mental illness that cannot be controlled that does factor in to poverty levels and homelessness.  I don’t mean to say, “Eliminate smoking and the world will be great!”, that would be too funny!  This was just something that was on my mind.  What more can we do as Christians, or even just a morally good society, do to better combat the factors that lead to poverty?  I know that we will always have the poor amoung us, Jesus said this, but do we have to have so many people living in poverty?  I don’t think so.  What more can I do about it?  I’m not quite sure.

God bless,

Jeff