Checking in for Day 2 on my 70 Day Challenge– hold me accountable at youtube, pinterest, and twitter.
Some thoughts to reflect on, especially if it pertains to you:
The average American man’s waist size is a ponderous 38.8 inches, up from 37.5 in 1988, according to the journal Obesity Research. (David Zinczenko, The Abs Diet, Kindle Locations 263-264)
Physicians’ Health Study that has tracked 22,701 male physicians since 1982, they found that men whose waists measured more than 36.8 inches had a significantly elevated risk for myocardial infarction, or heart attack, in which an area of the heart muscle dies or is permanently damaged by a lack of bloodflow. (id. Kindle Location 261-263)
The National Diabetes Education Program suggests that there is a direct correlation between heart disease and diabetes. They suggest that 65% of people diagnosed with diabetes die from from heart disease related issues- 65%! Diabetes in essence increases the chances of creating more problems for Americans when it comes to heart issues and complications. Whats even scarier is that year after year an average of 13 million Americans have been diagnosed with adult-onset diabetes, the most recent being Paula Deen from Food Network. So while Americans don’t like being told what to do- or what to eat- and we don’t like being told how to live- more specifically, what to not eat (i.e. diets)- we definitely value our lives, but unfortunately, the culture of consumption in this country is killing us. All those advances in allowing us to live longer, get nutritious foods and live healthy lives are being destroyed by our waist sizes.
My goal is to go from a waist size 36 to a waist size of 32. Currently I am at 35, so just by exerting a whole lot of energy over two days- including crunches and push ups at night and in the morning- controlling my diet, mainly being very cognizant of the amount of food intake, I cut back an inch- yaay for results! I love the VW commercial because it shows that if a dog can “get up off that ‘thaang” to do what it loves, so can I!
An this is a epidemic in the US, especially amongst kids. Obsiety is literally sapping away our youth into a world of diseases that to me seem worse than polio or influenza, in that the cure lies in the habits and education of individuals; no flu shot or vaccination will make diabetes or heart disease disappear off the face of the planet. The First Lady has an initiative that you should check out, called “Lets Move“, where I found this report, which to me is quite startling:
Over the past three decades, childhood obesity rates in America have tripled, and today, nearly one in three children in America are overweight or obese. The numbers are even higher in African American and Hispanic communities, where nearly 40% of the children are overweight or obese. If we don’t solve this problem, one third of all children born in 2000 or later will suffer from diabetes at some point in their lives. Many others will face chronic obesity-related health problems like heart disease, high blood pressure, cancer, and asthma.
You can check out the report for yourself here. One of the key recommendation is for kids, and families, to do 40-60 minutes of physical activity a day! Having seen the recommendation now over and over again from various health institutes, initiatives, doctors and remembering back to how much I hated that 1 hour of Physical Education I had to do in elementary, middle and high school- I realize that it really was keeping me healthy, and what I need today is 1 hour every day to do something physical. It doesn’t have to be the gym, or lifting weights, but 1 hour of continuous activity that pushes your body and builds a sweat is critical to stay healthy!
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