OUR SOCIETY IS IN AN EPIDEMIC OF OBESITY AND STRESS 

  Some sad facts: For the first time in history, more money is spent on “Fast Foods” than in our grocery stores! At the same time, over 17 billion dollars is spent on “health foods” and supplements. Yet, the obesity epidemic keeps growing. As we are more aware of the effect food has on health and stress, the demand for reliable information and “hands-on” cooking skills keeps growing.

Anyone who has tried to lose weight knows that there are no easy answers. Losing weight (and firming up) involves a complex interplay between appetite regulation (eating) and energy metabolism (exercise. In addition, we now know when you eat is just as important.

Part 1:

BEGIN WITH A SELF EVALUATION: “A closer look into the mirror” (Getting to know yourself better). “Profiling and recording your physical and mental status and taking enjoyable personality analysis and temperament tests. Self-evaluation eating habits, lifestyle, heredity, and medical needs.

KNOW THE BASICS: “No-frills, No-nonsense nutrition, pure and simple.” “Hands-on” cooking sessions for enjoying good food and learning how to shed those disruptive bad habits.

Mark Twain said it best: “An old habit must not be thrown out

the window, but coaxed down the stairs, one stair at a time!”

Part 2:

FAITH AND RELAXATION: Stress is the #1 cause of fatigue in this country. Stress is similar to one foot on the accelerator and the other on the brake! We live in a pressure-cooker society. A spiritual awakening is necessary. Sessions include relaxation techniques for managing stress and also enjoy singing sessions, great for both the body and the spirit.

Part 3:

THE BODY SHOP: Personal trainer will evaluate each participant and offer group exercises that you can continue doing at home. “Decay, decline, deterioration-integral to our physical world-well summed up in the second law of thermodynamics which says that left to our own devices, things go from a state of order to a state of increasing disorder. Things that are not maintained gradually fall apart.

Our bodies mirror this physical law.

                           Accumulated effect of decline and decay results in aging and eventually death.

Athletes = two phases:

1. achieve level of fitness or ability
2. maintaining level

“Can’t save fit = you have to maintain it”

If inactive, I will detrain faster than it took me to get in shape…must remain constantly in training. Otherwise, the sedentary life will inexorably reduce my mental and emotional well being (to which I might add: “physical”).

From “Personal Best” George Sheehan, M.D. (died 1993)

Call (386)274-5286 or email sylbedrosian@aol.com for available dates and classes.

FACE THE FAT FACTS:

IT’S TIME TO SHAPE UP!

 “DON’T DIG YOUR GRAVE WITH A KNIFE AND FORK”   English Proverb

More than 100 years of research, including huge ongoing studies, put the facts in the starkest terms: the fatter you are, the more likely you will be sick and die earlier!

A recent Harris poll found 76% of Americans are overweight, fully 1/3 of all adults, and more alarmingly, over 20% of our children are considered obese (20% over ideal weight is considered obese).

Medical findings now indicate that any degree of overweight, even 10 pounds may be hazardous to your health.

Over 300,000 Americans die prematurely each year because of obesity.

Over 200 billion is spend annually on treating cardiovascular disease, cancer, and diabetes. In addition, over 70 billion dollars a year in unnecessary Health Care Expenses is the price tag Americans pay for being overweight. (This alarming statistic is from the C. Everett Koop Foundation Health Letter).

Obesity deaths will continue to climb as long as obesity does. And the most alarming statistic of all: adolescent obesity has jumped 40 percent in a little over a decade.

 In addition, researchers at the National Institute of Health revealed that during the past 10 years, while the dietary intake of saturated fats and cholesterol was decreasing, the average weight of young adults has actually increased by 10 lbs.

FUNDAMENTAL ISSUES REGARDING  NUTRITION  AND OBESITY

1. DISTINCTION BETWEEN “COSMETIC” AND HEALTH CONCERN

       REGARDING BODY FAT AND WEIGHT.

2. GENETIC FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE BODY SHAPE AND SIZE.
3. LIFESTYE AND STRESS FACTORS.

In some respects, consumers are better educated than ever before about nutrition and have made long-term changes in their diets.  Approximately 35% of Americans polled had at least 1 cholesterol test and 2/3 claims to be modifying their diets out of concern over fats, cholesterol and oils.

Interestingly enough, fifty-five percent of Americans 55 and over say they do all they can to live a healthy lifestyle, according to the American Dietetic Association. Only 28 percent of the 24- to 34- year olds-surveyed make that claim.

According to American wisdom, we’re doing everything right and the rest of the world is doing everything wrong. Many overseas stores don’t sell skim milk. Low fat and nonfat desserts are practically nonexistent. Yet, look at the statistics-and the waist-lines—we’re the butt of jokes around the world.

WE  MUST TACKLE  FAT WITH SAME ANALAGY AS  SEAT  BELTS  SAVE LIVES!  ALSO: SMOKING DESTROYS THE BODY!

“Thank you for not smoking” became a common demand. No one took away the right to smoke; society took away the right not to be embarrassed about it.

BEING OVERWEIGHT SHORTENS YOUR LIFE! ALSO HINDERS YOUR QUALITY OF LIFE!

Long before waistlines began to balloon, we began to build a society that promotes values that themselves  promote obesity. The problem may best explained as a societal problem.  “The root of the problem” according to the respected Institute of Medicine at Northwestern U. “ must lie in the powerful social and cultural forces that promote an energy-rich diet and a sedentary lifestyle.” Moderation and setting limits could work. “If social and cultural forces can promote obesity, these same forces should be able to control it.” Concludes the Institute of Medicine.

No one will argue that we are not a hedonistic society- self-indulgence  and instant gratification with “quick-fixes” are the “modes operandi”.

How else can you explain:

More money is spent on Fast Foods than at the supermarket.

Every other person is on some type fad diet, yet  obesity  keeps climbing.

 More money is spent on “organic pills and supplements then on fruits and vegetables.  We are told to be more active, yet more time is spent in front of the “boob-tube” than ever before.

WE DID NOT GET TO THIS SORRY STATE OVERNIGHT:

A LITTLE BACKGROUND:

We are blessed with abundance food and scientific know-how that permit consumption of food far in excess of need! We retain our ancestor’s appetites, but lack their calorie output. Our lifestyles are completely different from generations past. To compensate for a more sedentary lifestyle, membership to spas and obsession with “pumping iron” and 5 billion is spent each year on diet pills, books etc. The food industry has jumped on the bandwagon with “lowfat” and “nofat” and “fat-free” and no expense is spared in the do or die attempt to get “thin.”

As Health Insurance Companies get more costly, the Medical community is finally waking up to the need for more preventive medicine.

Dr. Richard Bennett, Associate Professor of Medicine at Johns Hopkins explains the difference between Managed health care and care management. “If HMOs can teach their people how to manage their health, they could reduce health-care costs associated with frequent hospital visits.”  (Orlando Sentinel, 2/26/97)

THE FOCUS WITH REGARD TO EATING SHOULD BE ON ADOPTING A HEALTHY LIFE STYLE  RATHER THAN ON DIETING AND WEIGHT.

It should be a process, not an end point. People may not become skinny, but by eating right with portion control, will become healthier!

WHY ARE WE FAT? Pure and simple: (We eat too much and get too little exercise)

Our food isn’t served, it’s shoveled. The size of portions has grown enormously!

The McDonald’s original 3.7-ounce hamburger (bun included) has grown into do day’s scale-squeezing Arch Deluxe, which weighs in at about 9 ounces! Remember the attempts at the lean burger? It disappeared before it appeared.

Pasta dishes pile pasta on your plate so high you don’t know whether to eat it or climb it! 7-Eleven stores sell 64-ounce soft drinks-ten times bigger than the original Coke bottle. A European visitor noted, “By the comparatively restrained standards of the rest of the world, American portion sizes border on the obscene.”

Fatness is “in.” Rather than fight obesity, America has declared peaceful co-existence with it. Clothing lines, clothing stores, magazines specifically target to the Oversize, with glamorous names. Alarming, as it may seem, Sear started, and now many other major chains carry lines for chubby children, with names like “Pretty Plus.” Obesity has become such a cause celebre that “fat-acceptance” advocates are featured in popular magazines. “Who Says Size Counts!” proclaimed a recent People cover.  While many individuals clearly don’t want to be overweight, American society as a whole is progressively accepting it. Chef Paul Prudhome-Guru of cooking, can’t get around without an electric scooter!

We’re low-fat junkies what replaces the fat is often bland and extra calories must be added; therefore the products contain as many or even more calories than the original full-fat item. Perhaps the one  most significant cause of obesity is the “potato-chip, Diet Coke” mentality. Switching to water and an apple would be a revolutionary change! Drinking plenty of water is not only necessary for good health, but also required in any attempts at weight loss!

Excuses, excuses, excuses. “It’s in my genes” “I have a slow metabolism.” Very few people have metabolic or thyroid problems. The old excuse of “ I eat like a bird but gain anyway” is a combination of not reporting honestly and being sedentary. As we age, our caloric requirements dip and we just don’t need as much food. In just 10 years (2011) 1 out of 7 will be 65 or older!

Our expectations are too high We have always had an all-or nothing mentality! Diets empower food-not people!  There are no quick tricks or magic pills. Crash-diets simply don’t work!  The bookstores have 1,500 nutrition and diet books.  Modification is the only answer and there is no money to be made by it!  Remember that any swift and severe reduction in calories causes an extreme slowdown in your metabolism. When your metabolism slows down, so does your calorie burning, which is why crash diets are self-defeating.

America the Sedentary.   Between the T.V, computer and cell telephones, we move around less and less! In addition, many schools are cutting back on athletic programs. Walking has become and should be encouraged. Did you know it takes 35 miles to lose 1 lb? Seems small, but it adds up! I have long been an advocate of “backyard gardening.” Finally, it’s becoming fashionable. Switch from the spa to your  backyard for stress reduction and enjoy a great way to stay fit!

WHAT’S SO BAD ABOUT BEING OVERWEIGHT?

Harvard Medical School, school studied 120,000 women ages 30-55.

Being overweight kills primarily through heart disease, but also:

STROKE: A 1997 investigation as part of the above study found that women who had gained 44 lbs or more as adults had 2.5 times the chance of developing the most common form of stroke.

CANCER: The study also found that among women who had never used hormones, a weight gain of 44 lbs. Also coupled their chance of breast cancer after menopause.

DIATETES: About 15 million Americans have Type II diabetes. As obesity skyrockets, so does the prevalence of diabetes. One Scandinavian study found that obesity was associated with a tenfold increased chance of getting diabetes.

When obesity doesn’t kill, it sickens and cripples. A Federally funded Study of Women Across the Nation showed that 20% of 9,000 women ages 40 to 55 had trouble with simple physical tasks and were prone to get sick more frequently.

LIGHT SOLUTIONS TO A WEIGHTY  PROBLEM

YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT

Keep it to yourself-or get a partner, but don’t blabber that you’re on a diet!

Self-assessment: Many people feel their bodies cause them so much trouble, they think they life in foreign bodies. Your happy journey through life must first start with a journey within. If you are overweight, there are no “quick cures.” Only you know yourself, your family history, environment, and stresses.

EATING SHOULD BE SIMPLE, TASTEY AND ENJOYABLE.

EAT TO “LIGHTEN-UP” AND BE ALERT AND PEPPY!

  EAT RIGHT… STAY ACTIVE AND DRINK PLENTY OF WATER!