Hello, Obesity. Sit. Have a Donut.
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They are told, but nobody listens. The word is out, but they do not respond. It’s in the news, but none heed the message. Magazines inform, newspapers report, the television declares and the internet details hard-hitting facts, embarrassing truths and alarming consequences, but the points are ignored.
Obesity kills. Eat right. Exercise regularly. Be responsible. Teach your children. Be aware: Diabetes, heart failure and cancer lurk. The IOL Year End Challenge is for you.
Have we descended too far? Have we gone downward too long? Is the momentum too great? Is there no turning back? Have we lost our will, our way? Are we weak and numb, ignorant and lazy?
The overweight exposé has grown long hair and fangs and howls like a wolf in the town square. Rather than correct a wrong or prevent a disease, cure an illness or aright a social aberration, we have ignored it, we have apologized for it and perpetuated it. Obesity, weight-impairment, is linked to -- the result of -- caused by our misdirected childhood, the stresses of living, global warming, pesticides, environmental anomalies, the unconscionable fast-food industry and carbon footprints in the sand.
Please, spare me the pathetic details. You ever see the size of the sit-read-compute researchers making these obscene postulations? They’re humongous, I betcha. They love their French fries and Big Gulps.
Moreover, we (they, rather; hunky pc society, hungry business opportunists, overweight-activists, governmental grant researchers) have arranged alternatives and conveniences to accommodate what is largely a weakness (lack of control, absence of discipline, need for distraction, apathy), leading to an epidemic of costly diseases (heart problems, diabetes, cancer) which shorten lives, discourage or trump preemptive resolutions and raise insurance rates and medical costs across the board.
The problem: We eat too much, we eat the wrong foods, and we don’t exercise.
Solution: Exercise, eat right, be responsible.
I sound like I’m high ‘n mighty and I’m ranting ‘n raving. Not! Well, maybe just a little. I’m mostly a concerned observer with his own dysfunctions who sees a landscape of neat kids approaching their teens on the brink of disaster. They’re happy, innocent rolly pollies about to face the consequences of their up-to-now acceptable (normal, I’m sorry to say) condition. Before long, buds, it’s show time.
I see young guys and gals struggling with their excess weight. It’s obvious in their cumbersome movements, their timid self-consciousness, their feeble efforts to keep up, their adopted or contrived bullyness, or their painful shyness. I see it in their eyes, especially the confused and desperate eyes of chubby young girls, and it breaks my heart.
Shame on us. Fatness is a mistake, not an accident, and we’ve led them to its commission... we propagate the troubling condition.
Guys can handle it. Overweight can be disguised as big. They can use it on the football field. They can wear XL pullovers that say Broncos on the back. They can lean on lighter kids. Girls can’t. Guys have lotsa testosterone. Girls don’t. Guys are guys. Girls aren’t. Thank heaven.
Girls are responsible for more important things like bosoms and bottoms and small waists. Their girlfriends admire such attributes, society acclaims them and dopey guys drool over them. I, of course, am simply an innocent bystander.
IronOnline is home to many overweight bombers, a source of information and encouragement for thousands of lifters and fitness seekers whose weight is problematic. We are partners all, striving and applying, falling and rising, trying and failing, living and learning and growing and succeeding.
We’re okay. I’m talking about those adults outside our cosmic gym, who are not tuning in, the kids beyond our invisible fitness bubble unaware of their physical trouble. The number of heads cannot be counted and is increasing day by day.
It makes me mad and sad. The problem is a big problem, collectively and individually, because it’s been a work in progress for a long, long time. The stomachs protrude like beach balls, and they are neither fun nor funny. They didn’t appear overnight. They’re major construction projects, serious developments.
I’m sounding like a mean guy (a bum, yes -- mean, no), but the problem is larger than oversized midsections.
Where’s the basic human intelligence, the common sense?
Where are the personal responsibility, healthy pride and self-control?
Where are the minds, hearts and souls?
Where are the parents and role models, schools and educators?
Where’s concern for self and the whole, one’s people, one’s nation?
Daydreamers beware. A concerned overweight person ought not to seek to be slick, svelte and sassy. Not yet, later maybe. He or she ought to take wise and comfortable steps to lose weight and condition him or herself regularly, day by day, every day, for good. Remember and never forget: The rewards are instant and constant and reap dividends forever. Seed-sized efforts for a vast harvest of achievement. Think big where it counts.
Again, the causes of common obesity are simple: poor food choices, poor eating habits, over-consumption and inactivity. Certain IronOnliners might attribute their oversized problem to proper eating habits gone north and vigorous exercise gone south. Discipline, alas, is not their foremost quality and devotion to the cause of leanness has been known to disappear like chocolates.
Here’s all you need to know, my concerned overweight friends:
It’s got to do with exercise and eating right and wrapping your arms around yourself with affection. It includes encouragement, endurance and commonsense; faith, hope and love. You possess them all or you wouldn’t be here, wherever that might be. Dare I say it, no self-loathing and negative imagery, ever. Neat trick, good luck.
The eating thing is no secret -- more balance and less indulging. Eat less of most things and stop eating the wrong things; more living foods and less processed foods, more musclebuilding proteins and fewer fat-building empty carbs, and no greasy fats, ya rats. Eat smaller balanced meals more frequently, increase water consumption and add a quality vitamin-mineral supplement daily. No booze, no smokes, no soda pop, no whining.
Neither is the exercise thing a covert operation -- more vigorous activity and less idleness. Walk more, jog if you can or ride the stationary bike regularly; establish a gym (at home or downtown) and use it regularly and vigorously. Follow the simple program listed at the end of this discourse and remember, it works, as does a dripping faucet in filling buckets. The faucet is adjustable, by the way.
Life, besides being unfair, is full of inconveniences. Eating right and blasting it can be dern near impossible in the world of opportunity -- overtime, kid’s soccer practice, finals, holidays and the beer and ice cream in the fridge.
We need tools, aids and armaments to succeed. Will, desire, need and certainty are the handy tools in our toolbox for effective construction. Self-control, persistence, compromise and smart planning are the feathered arrows in our quiver if we’re to hit the target, the bull’s-eye.
Ah, but there’s always a tempered glitch. The causes of jiggles and tight jeans can sometimes be complicated: hormonal, metabolic, glandular and genetic. Here excuses are not necessary. We have reasons.
Whoever, whatever, whenever or why, the stubborn predicament must be attended. The overweight condition has a way of becoming a permanent condition the longer it accompanies us and grows comfortable.
If I was 30 to 70 years old and about to mount the bucking bull -- roller coaster if you prefer -- of weight loss, musclebuilding and conditioning for the first time since the launching of the Arc, this is what I’d do:
1) Reality check -- I’d recognize the seriousness of the matter, make a commitment to resolve it and set a realistic goal. I’d prepare for compromise and hard, loving work regularly.
2) I’d exercise every day for 30 to 60 minutes (what a relief!), which would include a 30-minute midsection plus aerobic workout (walk, jog or bike, plus crunches), alternated with a 60-minute weight workout. See davedraper.com.
3) I’d dig up some basic nutritional info on davedraper.com and outline a high-protein, medium good fat and good carb, low-cal diet and follow it like a puppy follows its best friend -- eagerly, innocently, lovingly, always and everywhere. You know this stuff, just do it!
4) A routine can be as simple as four push and pull exercises (dumbbell presses, pulldowns, curls and dips) for 3 sets x 12, 10, 8 reps and some lunges and deep knee bends. That’s all. Work up to it over time. Enjoy the time, drink of its incalculable worth and remember: It’s more important than most everything else you do. It supports and adds years of quality to every facet and fiber of your life. Don’t hurry your workout, don’t chase it away, enjoy it. It’s here and now. It works.
5) Let your light shine.
Feels like spring in Central Cal. Good weather for plucking daisies and doing tailspins. Don’t try these activities at the same time... without practice, goggles, a nose guard and collision insurance... a fistful of four-leaf clovers, one rabbit’s foot, a lucky penny... feeding the pets, saying goodbye, canceling travel plans, confessing your sins...
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