FitQuest Fitness

Who's to blame??

2008-06-12T12:33:00.000-07:00

Are you accountable?

Well known fitness professional and my very good friend Ryan Lee, sent out an email last week. It was a video clip of him blowing apart some common fitness myths as well as promoting his newest product, Body Bot.

While I was listening he said a something that really caught my attention.

He said 'I'm not saying that these myths are to blame for you being overweight, that is your fault.'

It hit me how this is something you just don't ever hear anyone say and for several reasons that I can think of. You don't want to make someone feel bad or offend them for being the biggest reason.

But I thought about it and realized that this should not be offensive. Our weight and fitness level is a direct reflection of the choices we make and it's that simple. Why blame misinformation, or work, or the kids, or stress or being tired, or not having time to cook or any of the other things we blame.

It can be a very positive thing, I think, to put the responsibility on ourselves. It is empowering. When we blame things outside of ourselves we are giving up our power to take action and change things. That should be more offensive than hearing someone say 'it's your fault'.

Being accountable for our health and fitness, instead of looking outward for answers (or excuses), is the best thing we can do for ourselves.

What do you think?

Don't forget about your Core!

2008-03-11T06:46:00.000-07:00

Every athlete wants to get the most out of his or her training and reach their full athletic potential. One of the most important factors in maximizing athletic performance is core strength.

An athlete with a strong core is a strong athlete; it's that simple. Let me explain to you just what the core is and why core strength is so very important for any athlete. The core is comprised of nearly 30 different muscles that basically wrap around your body in the area between your hips and ribcage.

There are a couple ways to think about this in easy terms. First of all think of your body in two halves, the lower half and the upper half. The core area is between the two and can be thought of as a 'bridge' that connects them. In order for the upper and lower body to work together requires that connection. Another visual is to think of the rebar in a foundation. Imagine that your core area is just like the foundation of a house. When not trained, it is a foundation without its rebar and one likely to weaken and cause problems, while a conditioned core is a strong and sturdy foundation with rebar. Basically, the core is fundamental to all body movement.

Whether you realize it or not, you hardly make a movement without engaging your core whether it be walking up the stairs or bending down to pick something up. Your core is involved, providing you with balance and stability. The strength, or weakness, or your core will dictate how easy or difficult these movements are. So, what does this have to do with your athletic performance?

Absolutely everything.

When you are moving through your sport of choice you are using your body in its most functional state, in other words, as a whole. You are using your lower body and your upper body together; you're jumping, throwing, twisting, hitting, running, the list goes on and on. Your core is the basis for all of this movement and once again the strength or weakness of that core will dictate the ease in which you move on the field or court. Athletes are also very often in unstable environments, like landing on one foot or throwing or hitting from an awkward position. I cannot honestly think of a sport where this stability and balance does not come into play.

Your balance comes from your core; strong core equals good balance.

Here are some examples: Think of the volleyball player jumping and spiking. The spike is literally being performed in mid air; can a situation be less stable? The power for that spike must come from the core! Think of the shortstop that runs to catch a grounder and then must jump, twist and throw all at the same time, again, ALL core! Think of the tennis player who runs across the court and then smashes a return to the opposite side, ALL core! I could go on and on with every single sport and just about every position but hopefully you get the idea.

If you do not train for core strength and balance you will never realize your full potential. More and more athletes are training this way and if you ignore this vital aspect of athletic training you will be out-played.

Fortunately, core training is not difficult or time consuming and it does not require expensive equipment. It has been my experience that athletes are downright thrilled to be doing something other than 'lifting' anyway. Core training is innovative, challenging and creative; heck, it's fun! Of course when the athletes and coaches see the results, which come quickly with this type of training, the excitement really builds.

If I sound passionate about Core Training, I am. I see the results first hand every day. Hundreds of athletes that I have trained enjoy incredible results and it is very exciting. If your routine does not involve core training, well, that needs to change.

Improve your core and improve your game, guaranteed.

Read what 15-year old Meghan a Training For Volleyball customer and volleyball athlete accomplished with her purchase of Training For Volleyball:

"Dear Barry, I am 15 and have been on a team for 2 years. The coach never played me because I couldn't react quickly or jump very high. This past summer I attended the Penn volleyball camps. That is where I saw you speak and do the drills. I bought your DVD just thinking I'd give it a shot. But it really works! Jumping 5 inches higher and reacting much quicker I tried out and made the JV volleyball team. Now I am a starter in every game.

Thank you Barry.

Meghan"

Weight Loss Obstacles - How To Avoid Weight Loss Burnout

2008-01-08T05:41:00.000-08:00

Have you ever woke up one day, usually a Monday, and told yourself that this was the day you were going to start living a healthier lifestyle. The extra weight you are carrying is coming off and for good this time. You're going to eat all the right foods and go to the gym loyally. You are feeling highly motivated and you're ready to roll! How long did it last? Was it a month or two, a week or two, a day? You are not alone!

This is a very common problem, people don't live up to their own expectations and then they dismiss it, usually by saying 'I don't have any will power'. So that's it, you tell yourself you don't have any will power and you let that excuse you from what you need to do to get it. The beginning stages of any exercise program are always the toughest. This is when people have the greatest fall off rate. Why? There are a few reasons. The biggest reason is that people do too much too soon. You want to lose weight and you want to lose it now! Well, if one day you're eating pizza and ice cream and sitting on the couch and the next day you're eating bean sprouts and working out for an hour and a half, a red flag should be going up. This is not going to last! These are examples of two extremes and going to the extreme in either direction is not healthy and not necessary.

I cannot emphasize enough how important small lifestyle changes can be if you want to lose weight. With diet, that may mean adding more fruits and vegetables instead of fatty snacks, avoiding red meat and fried food, avoid nighttime eating, if you eat because you are bored, do something so that you are not bored, just to name a few.

With exercise, that may mean going for a walk after dinner or at lunch, exercising 3-5 days a week for 30 minutes, actively playing with the kids, finding an exercise class that you enjoy, just to name a few.

Another top reason that people give up on themselves and their weight loss is impatience. When people start eating better and exercising they tend to think that the results should come very fast. There is a lot wrong with this way of thinking. First of all, it is very unhealthy to lose weight fast. In order to do that you must deprive your body of many calories and therefore vital nutrients as well. This also slows down your metabolism so you will have a greater tendency to gain the weight back. Secondly, you did not get out of shape overnight, it is wrong to expect it come right back to you overnight as well.

On average, a weight loss of two pounds a week is considered healthy. The key is to enjoy the process and all the great things that happen along the way to your goal. It has to be about more than losing weight. You will have more energy and that feels good, you will be in better spirits as well. You may start to feel more confident and strong. These important changes come a lot faster than the final goal, so savor them. Let them act as motivation to keep you going. Remind yourself that when you were eating junk and not exercising that you felt lethargic, out of control, possibly even depressed.

Everyone hits bumps in the road to health and fitness. When you hit one of these inevitable bumps, you have two choices. You can either persevere and continue on your journey or take yourself back to where you started. Obviously, you were not happy at your starting point or else you never would have started at all. We all want to feel good, be healthy and active, have more energy, and be strong and confident. So, the next time you come to a fork in the road, remember this, tell yourself you are worth the effort, and choose the right way, the way towards health and happiness.

Bringing Back The Push-Up

2008-01-01T08:57:00.000-08:00

One of the most common questions people ask is how much weight they should be lifting. They always want to know if they should be lifting heavier weights or lighter weights and the reasons behind each decision. I am a firm believer in lighter weight and higher repetitions workouts. As long as you work the muscle to fatigue it will break down and rebuild and it is in this process that muscles get bigger and stronger. I like lower weight and higher repetition because it also builds muscular endurance, raises the heart rate and puts much less stress on your joints; it just makes sense.

All of that being said; the missing link for many people is body weight training. In other words, why use weights at all? You can get an incredible workout and see incredible results from doing exercises in which the only resistance is your own body weight. I know that some of you are already scoffing at this idea; it goes against everything you think you know, right? Well let's not forget that body weight training is the only training that gymnasts do and does anyone want to argue about their strength and the results they get? I didn't think so.

All too often we see people in the gym struggling to bench press huge amounts of weight and chances are that they could not perform even ten push-ups done correctly. Notice that I say done correctly. Plenty of people can do ten push-ups with their backs bowed or only coming down half way. The truth of the matter is that the push-up is one of the best over all upper body exercises on the planet and it gets ignored because the average person lifting weights has it in their head that they need to lift actual weights. Well your body is a weight so why not use it.

Another awesome exercise is the pull-up. Like the push-up it works the upper body like a whole, it is very functional and like the push-up, the average person cannot do them. If you are still scoffing at the idea of incorporating these back to basics exercises into your routine, I'm confused, unless you can actually do them and do them correctly. I mean what is there to scoff at when it is something that you can't do. Doesn't that tell you that it is something to work on and that it is worthy of your time? Doesn't that tell you that it just may be a missing link in your training?

There are many other exercises that only use body weight as the resistance and I suggest you learn more about them but I'm using these two because most people will know what I am talking about. If you do push-ups and pull-ups you will be working your rear deltoids, chest, biceps, lats, triceps, shoulders and core. This is what you want, you want to get the most that you can out of each exercise that you do, more bang for your buck so to speak.

Often in the fitness business we are always trying to come up with something new and exciting. That is all well and good and indeed there are endless possibilities out there when it comes to exercise. But sometimes we need to be reminded of the tried and true basics. Things like push-ups and pull-ups may have fallen by the wayside for many of us but the fact is that they work so why not bring them back.

Barry Lovelace is an internationally recognized personal trainer and fitness professional. Visit his website for more FREE health and fitness tips and a FREE Ebook titled 'How To Juggle Your Health and Fitness'!

The One Word Answer To Your Fitness Questions

2007-12-28T03:31:00.000-08:00

If you’re like most people you struggle with your weight. Perhaps you are one of the many who lose weight and then gain it all back again; can there be anything more frustrating? Maybe you have been carrying around unwanted weight for years and have lost all hope. It is never too late and everyone has the ability to lose weight.

In my business, I get to see the people who fail to lose their weight and the people who succeed; I see it first hand every day and have been for years. I can honestly tell you that losing weight comes down to one thing and one thing only. What is it? Consistency.

This hit me one day when I was just looking around my gym at all the people working out. Most of them have been members for years and so I know their patterns. The ones who are fit and have kept their weight off are the ones who are consistent with their workouts and consistent with their eating habits. The ones who go up and down in weight or just stay up are the ones who come to the gym in spurts, we’ll see them regularly for a while and then they disappear only to reappear sometime later feeling awful and heavy.

Consistency is the answer! It is number one thing you need to work on in order to achieve weight loss success. It is what clearly separates the fit from the fat. If you conquer this than everything else will simply fall into place and you will lose weight.

I am hoping that you will see this as good news, not bad. Consistency does not mean perfect. What it means is that you stay on track 80% of the time. You may miss a workout or two a month but you don’t disappear from the gym for weeks. You may have pizza and beer a couple of times a month but the majority of the time your diet is healthy. That is what consistency means and it is what is needed to lose weight and keep it off.

The biggest problem we see in this business is the off and on/start and stop trap that so many people fall into when they want to lose weight. A person will start eating better and working out and than a few weeks go by, they miss a workout and go out to eat and bam! Just like that they are taken off course. The key is to miss that workout and go out to eat and then wake up the next day and get right back on track. That is consistency in a nutshell.

Losing weight is made out to be too difficult when it just doesn’t have to be. If you have weight to lose, make a plan that is doable so that you can be consistent and stick with it. Write it down if you have to, whatever makes it more real and permanent for you. Learn to deal with going out to eat without it sending you into a feeding frenzy that lasts for weeks. No one ever gained weight by eating one big meal, but many people gain weight by eating big meals often. Learn to prioritize your workout times so that you stay consistent, exercise is key to taking and keeping weight off. Be consistent and enjoy as you lose your unwanted weight.

Interval Training - See Dramatic Results with Interval Training

2007-11-21T17:28:00.000-08:00

Interval training is a great way to spice up a workout and get awesome results. Do you ever find that your cardiovascular workout routine is getting a little too repetitive, a little too boring? Boredom is a huge problem and one of the main reasons people give up on exercise, but it doesn’t have to be that way. There are so many different ways to challenge your body and your mind during your workouts that you should never feel bored.

The key is to always keep learning new things and to learn variations of the exercises and routines you are currently doing. One of these variations is aerobic interval training and that is what we are going to talk about today.

So what is aerobic interval training? Basically, it means working out by alternating bursts of intense activity with intervals of light activity. This type of training can be done by anyone and with any aerobic activity. Let’s use walking as an example. If you’re already in pretty good shape and you’ve been walking for a while, you might incorporate short bursts of jogging into your regular brisk walks. If you’re more of a beginner, you might just alternate faster, harder walking with leisurely walking.

For example, if you are walking outside you could pick a landmark in the distance like a tree or a stop sign and pick up the intensity until you get to it. If you’re working out on a treadmill or elliptical machine, it is as easy as watching the timer on the machine and timing your light intensity and high intensity intervals.

There are many advantages to interval training. Perhaps the most popular is that interval training burns more calories without spending more time in the gym, who doesn’t like the sound of that? There are other benefits as well, like improving your aerobic capacity, which is great news for your workouts but more importantly it is great news for your heart and lungs. Interval training is also nice because it doesn’t require drastic changes to your routine or any kind of special equipment.

Whatever type of cardiovascular exercise you are doing now can be easily converted into interval training. This type of training will grow with you as you progress. Getting started is as easy as choosing the length and speed of your high intensity intervals. Obviously the length and speed can be altered depending of how you are feeling that day, it is all up to you.

Of course this does require you to be more disciplined during your workout. It is up to you to do your intervals at a level that will challenge you and only you can determine what that level is. Also, as with any exercise routine, it is important to warm up first. You want to make sure your body is warmed up before you go into your first interval.

If you are working out seriously to improve sports performance, this type of training is also a good choice for you. In this case, you may want to look at interval training a little more seriously. A personal trainer or other fitness expert can help you plan the intensity and duration of your intervals based on your target heart rate, aerobic capacity and other factors.

No matter what your fitness level, aerobic interval training is something you can use to boost your workout, relieve some boredom and challenge your body. Why not try it today?

So, What Are You Most Thankful For?

2007-11-15T04:20:00.000-08:00

So what are you most thankful for? Being that it is Thanksgiving I hope that some of you have pondered this a bit. It’s interesting but when most people talk about what they are most thankful for it is their family, friends and health that top the list. Why do I find this interesting? Because I don’t think most of us concentrate on these things in relevance to them being what is most important to us.

Think about your average day or week. How much of that time is dedicated to family, friends and your health? Most of the people I come across are so caught up in the daily grind that these self-imposed most important things are not at the top of the list. People are very quick to say they are too busy to make phone calls, visit loved ones or get in a workout. It is everyone’s favorite excuse; I’m too busy.

Other people have no problem accepting this excuse because then they can use it too. What goes around comes around, right? Can you imagine if next Thanksgiving you did not have your spouse to be thankful for? Can you imagine if by next Thanksgiving you had lost a dear friendship because they tired of your excuses? Can you imagine that next Thanksgiving you no longer had your precious good health? Like the old saying goes, ‘you don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone’.

Good health is so valuable but you would never know it by the way many people treat it. Let’s face it, we take it for granted. We act like it is a birthright and it will always be there for us. It will never happen to us, just the other people, right? I’d like to take the famous JFK quote and turn it around on you. ‘Ask not what your body can do for you, ask what you can do for you body’.

So what can you do for your body? You can nourish it instead of just filling it with useless and empty calories. You can move your body instead of having it sit in front of the TV. That’s it you ask? Yep, that’s it. Just think about it, your amazing body and all it does for you and all it asks for in return are healthy nutrition and movement. Is that a bargain or what?

The time to really think about this is now, before you have high blood pressure, high cholesterol, clogged arteries and excess body fat and the many diseases they cause. Many of you already have one or more of these conditions. Have you taken responsibility for them? By taking responsibility you are regaining control of the situation and when you know that you are in control than you will do what is necessary to reverse these ailments.

Healthy nutrition and exercise have been proven to not just stop the progressions of heart disease, high blood pressure and high cholesterol but to actually reverse them! I hope that has you excited and ready to take action! Too often I see people wallowing in self-pity because of their high blood pressure when I know that they eat sodium rich cold cuts, red meat, processed cheese and other junk food. Why should we feel sorry for someone who won’t take any responsibility? Frankly, I don’t feel sad as much as I do angry.

I feel that most people in our society are on a very slippery slope when it comes to their health and it is scary. It’s up to each of us to take care of ourselves, and it should be at the top of our priority list.

Michael Moore to the rescue?

2007-09-25T10:05:00.001-07:00

There is sure a lot of talk about our countries health care system these days. And with a presidential election coming it is only going to intensify. No doubt all the pandering will heat up from candidates who are going to tell you what they think you want to hear, that they will ‘fix’ health care, whatever that means.
As a fitness professional, I joined the Michael Moore Health Challenge. Have you heard about it? It is an email campaign started by people in the fitness industry to plead with Michael Moore to take control of his health and set a good example and it is gaining lots of momentum. As we all know, Michael Moore is very outspoken and eager to highlight the flaws, both real and imagined, in our health care system. Like everything else he speaks about, he finds a way to blame the current administration and make it a very political discussion. But what he fails to realize is that to many people, myself included, he himself is the epitome of the problem with health care in this country. He takes absolutely no responsibility for his own health but believes that everyone else should be forced to contribute for his health care. He wants the government to take care of him when he doesn’t take care of himself.
Now, obviously Michael Moore can afford his own healthcare, but the premise is still the same. As a nation we are getting more and more unhealthy by our own choosing and it is simply not fair to have a system where people who take good care of their health would have to pay as much or even more than people who don’t. Of course anyone can get sick, but we have to get real. The #1 killer in this country is heart disease, and the number of people on cholesterol, blood pressure and diabetes medications is absolutely staggering and the obesity rate is nearing 50%. Heart disease, high cholesterol, high blood pressure and diabetes can be alleviated or prevented in a majority of cases through lifestyle change. We all know it is true but when the subject is discussed it is usually left out. For some reason it is preferable to make people victims of a system or genetics than to empower them, how sad.
The answer is to live a healthy lifestyle and take preventative measures, not eat whatever you want, get fat, smoke and avoid exercise and then go crying to the health care system to make you better.
If it weren’t so sad, I would actually think that it is funny to see Michael Moore, the poster boy for bad health and over indulgence, ridicule a president who has set an incredible example for fitness and good health. In no way am I speaking politically, no matter what you think of President Bush, his positive example for taking personal responsibility for health and fitness cannot be denied.
I know this is a tough subject but I think it is so important to really face reality when it comes to health. We all claim to know how important it is but yet it is continuously taken for granted and put at risk. Sometimes I think that the reason people are so willing to not make their health a priority is because of our amazing health care system and the incredible advances that have been made. I mean, whatever you bring on yourself they have a pill for, right?
If you would like to participate in the Michael Moore Health Challenge, send an email to healthychallenge@gmail.com and ask Michael Moore to use his notoriety in a positive way by setting a good example and taking responsibility and control over his own health.

Think positively for positive results

2007-09-11T04:30:00.000-07:00

Owning a gym is a very rewarding business, offering people a nice place to workout and also seeing people making positive changes in their health and their lives; it is a dream come true. In this business we see how exercise affects people physically and emotionally but we also see how peoples emotions affect how or even if they exercise.

Let me give you an example. The other day a woman came in to check out the gym. Immediately after the greetings were over she told me how she hated to exercise and then as I gave her a tour I heard a list a reasons on why she didn’t think she could do it. Now, don’t get me wrong I’m glad she came in because these are the type of people that we really like to help, but her attitude may very well cause her to fail.

We hear things like this all the time whether it be people saying ‘I hate it’ or ‘I can’t do it’ or ‘I’m too out of shape to do that class’ or ‘I’m just not motivated’. This gets me to thinking about the way we talk to ourselves.

Negative self-talk is very self-destructive and yet many people do it. If you tell yourself that you hate something than how can you expect a positive result? I’m a firm believer that your fitness routine needs to start in your head. If you tell yourself you can’t, you won’t. If you tell yourself that you are not capable, you will never be capable. If you put exercise at the bottom of your priority list, it will stay there.

Instead, tell yourself that you deserve to workout and feel good. Look at exercise as a gift you give to yourself. Tell yourself that you will do your very best and then do your best, whatever that is, and be proud! Tell yourself that you want to have more energy; the list goes on and on. I think there are several reasons why people talk themselves out of working out and I think they are based in fear. If you tell yourself that you are going to start an exercise routine, you may be afraid that you will not stick with it and sometimes that is too big a risk to take. Other people may be afraid of the environment and feel that they don’t belong.

All I can say is that every single person started somewhere and just because someone you see is in good shape doesn’t mean that they were always that way. They very well may have started out in poor physical shape.

Another common fear is the realization that this is a lifestyle, not something to do for a couple of months and then stop. Fear of commitment is common. This is where that positive self-talk comes in handy. You know logically that exercise is going to make you feel better, stay healthy, relieve stress, look better and improve the quality of your life. These are just some of the positive reinforcements that you can give yourself in a moment of weakness.

I am no stranger to these struggles. I remember times in my own life when I told myself that ‘I worked all day, I deserve to go home and relax’ when in actuality I felt 100% better when I started adding exercise to my day.

So the next time you start to talk yourself out of going out for a walk or going to the gym ask yourself what you are really trying to avoid and why. Ask yourself what you want to do for yourself…nothing or something wonderful!

We're starting outdoor fitness boot camps!

2007-08-29T04:13:00.000-07:00

I have to tell you, I can't remember the last time that something had us this excited. Our Totally Fit Boot Camp is something we have wanted to bring to the Lehigh Valley area for some time and it is finally happening!

Have you ever seen photos of a boot camp or read articles about this type of challenging workout and thought, 'man, I wish I had someone pushing me like that'? I know I have. Well, starting Septmenber 10th, everyone in our area will have that opportunity and we are psyched about it.

Find out all about it at www.totallyfitbootcamp.com

In this business you learn things from people. And one of the many things I have learned is that the majority of people want to exercise and feel better, they just have a hard time either getting started or staying motivated. Does this sound familiar? It's ok, you are not alone. One of the reasons we are so excited about these boot camps is that this is another way to motivate people to get moving and have fun and feel better. That is always what is at the core of what we strive to do in our gym and our other endeavors.

I hope that you will take a moment to check out the site www.totallyfitbootcamp.com This could be just the thing you are looking for.

So, it's McDonalds fault?

2007-08-13T15:44:00.000-07:00

Last week there was BIG news that McDonalds had perfected marketing to children as young as 4 years old. These kids were attracted to the McDonalds packaging and chose it over the same food in plain packaging. This is news? Not to me, it isn't. And it also isn't something to get so darn upset over as many people have.

Four year olds are not responsible for feeding themselves, they don't do the food shopping and they certainly don't grab the keys and head over to McDonalds. Last week was a perfect example of misplaced blame and irrational fear. There were groups of concerned citizens who wanted to ban together to 'do something' about McDonalds. How can this possibly be?

McDonalds is doing what every successful business strives to do, they are hitting their marketing target. Now don't get me wrong, there is nothing I would ever eat at McDonalds. I don't go there. And it is that simple, don't go there. Don't act like this corporation is coming to your house and kidnapping your child and making them eat their food. It is the responsibility of the parents and no one else when it comes to what children eat.

On a side note, if it were not for television commercials and being taken to McDonalds than none of these children would have had the reaction they did. Who shall we blame for that?

Who holds you back?

2007-07-17T04:48:00.000-07:00

I feel pretty certain that most of you can relate to having someone in your life who holds you back, who gets in the way of every good plan or intention you may have. Obviously this type of thing can play out in all aspects of life but were going to talk about it in regards to health and fitness. This is a fairly common problem when someone decides to make healthy lifestyle choices and better him or herself and it is very frustrating.
You know what I mean, don’t you? There’s the friend you tells you it is all right for you to skip your workout and go to happy hour instead. There is the spouse who prefers sitting around the house instead of going for walks, who brings ice cream and cookies home or always wants to go out to eat. There is the sister or brother who will tell you what you are doing is ‘stupid’.
The sad fact of the matter is this; there are lots of people out there who are overweight and out of shape and not interested in expending the energy to do anything about it. They want to bring you down with them, it’s the whole ‘misery loves company’ mindset. Maybe it makes them feel a little better about themselves if you are right there with them or possibly even better if you are more out of shape then they are. This is all very sad but we all know there is truth to it. They want to sit around and do nothing and they want you to sit around with them.
I’m no psychologist but I imagine another reason that the people in our lives act this way is because of fear. They fear you will change and that the new and improved you will not want to spend time with them anymore. Your first reaction to that may be to think that that is ridiculous and it would not happen but it depends on the relationship. If spending time with someone means going out to eat burgers and drink beer then you really may not want to spend time with them anymore.
When you really start to embrace a healthy lifestyle with good nutrition and exercise you feel so great and you may really start to think twice before you do things that will sabotage that great feeling. Let’s be honest nobody feels great after wings and beer. So, believe it or not, if you really want to make permanent healthy lifestyle changes than some relationships will either have to change or be left behind.
In the beginning it is challenging to adopt a new lifestyle and what you need from the people you surround yourself with is support, not sabotage. After you get used to your new lifestyle you will feel so good and have so much energy that you will not want to do things that will take away from that great feeling. There are going to be people who just don’t get it and that is that. They may make fun of you or fear that you’ve changed. Let them know that if they really cared about you they would be happy that you are taking good care of yourself and not be bringing you down. If they can’t be supportive than you have a decision to make, don’t you?
Don’t get me wrong we all indulge from time to time, that is life, but it should not be a constant thing and it does not have to be the center of our social activities. It is that mindset that has gotten this society in the terrible state of health we are in.

The Tragedy of Childhood Obesity

2007-07-09T15:58:00.000-07:00

Childhood obesity; it’s a subject that is constantly in the news and on many people’s minds. You can’t help but notice it. On any given day you are bound to see many overweight children, some severely overweight. I just cannot get my head around it. I don’t understand how it can be this way and constantly be getting worse.

But then I happened by a special on the television last week. The show was a forum on childhood obesity. There was a panel of professionals. There were doctors, nutritionists, exercise physiologists and dieticians. Everyone was voicing their concerns with just how serious the problem of childhood obesity has become and all of the horrible health consequences these children are facing and are likely to face as they get older. Sounds like a good show, right? Well, I could not help but notice that overwhelmingly the conversation turned to what the government and the food manufacturers and the community, etc. can do to fix it. I was waiting for them to suggest aliens come down from outer space and solve the problem.

They talked about the absence of gym classes in some schools, the quality of food served in school cafeterias, the absence of government programs educating the public on health. These things may be true but where is the talk about what is going on in the home. Why does it seem that people don’t want to address the role of the parents? Does it go against political correctness to do so?

When I think back to when I was young, a child’s exercise did not come from the gym class they took, it came from being active when we weren’t in school whether that be sports, the playground or just playing out in front of the house. Often these days people will say it is not safe for kids to go out and play, well whatever happened to watching your kids play or playing with them or taking them to a playground? It’s just one more excuse.

As for the food in the cafeteria, it was no different than it is today; in fact it was probably worse since some schools have begun to make improvements. Of course if you really think your child’s health if suffering because of cafeteria food than why don’t you pack them a lunch instead of waiting for things to change? And education, well we know much more these days about health and fitness than we did in previous generations. So why is it that personal responsibility is not even on the table when it comes to these discussions. I literally could not believe what I was hearing on this show.

There were parents of obese children on the show and not one of the panel members had the idea to say, get the junk out of your house, feed your children nutritious food and go out and move with your kids. It is easier to say that parents are too busy and don’t have the time to cook than to say that if you’re a parent than part of being a good parent is to provide healthy meals. There are many busy, working parents who cook for their kids. This is just one more excuse in a sea of excuses that people use. We want to blame McDonalds and we want to blame the hydrogenated fats in the prepackaged foods that are in the grocery stores because then we don’t have to put the blame where it belongs, with ourselves. We need a wake up call and we need it quickly.