Last weekend, our family headed out across the state on a quick little adventure. Truth be known, it was a trip to reward our daughter’s Brownies troop for selling so many cookies earlier this year. While I’m proud of the entrepreneurial spirit such an effort requires, I can’t help but cringe about the product they’re selling! I’ve often wondered just how much these famous cookies have contributed to weight gain across America in recent years!
Don’t worry, for the most part, I keep my mouth shut about this to my daughter! I want her to reap the positive benefits of being part of this fantastic organization while I try to minimize the collateral damage!
Anyhow, last weekend was an eye-opener. Not a good one.
Let me start by saying that our town is not one that you’ve seen gracing the top of any “Healthiest Places to Live” list! Nope. When you stroll through town on a summer night, or head out to a restaurant, or shop in the town’s mega store, it’s clear that we’re falling short regarding our health… especially when it comes to body weight.
BUT, nothing could have prepared me for what I saw on our trip.
Although it was only 3 hours from where we live, I was shocked by the dramatic differences in body composition I witnessed in countless people that weekend. Time and time again – at the hotel, the restaurant, walking around town, at the swimming pool and at the amusement park – we saw multiple generations of families who were dangerously obese.
I’ve never seen anything like it.
One night, we took the kids swimming at the hotel pool before bedtime. The pool and pool deck quickly filled up with other guests who were apparently thinking the same thing! Before long, this tiny pool area had 25 or more people of all ages in it.
I watched. I witnessed. I didn’t say anything.
I’ve never, ever seen so much obesity in one place… ever. Maybe it was the fact that there was only one family there who wasn’t considered clinically or morbidly obese that made it seem so obvious and so overwhelming. Babies, children, teenagers, young adults, parents and grandparents… ALL significantly obese.
Let me be perfectly clear: I don’t judge anyone because of their weight. I wasn’t looking ‘down’ upon these people in any way. I hope you know me better than that. It simply made me incredibly sad and physically ill. I wanted to cry. I wanted to throw up. I’ve never felt such a visceral reaction to someone else’s loss of health like this… with the exception of watching my mom die.
I realized how catastrophic our obesity epidemic really is. I realized, especially after witnessing what so many of these families were eating, that they really just don’t know. To a large extent, it’s not their fault. Toxic, garbage food is cheap, readily available, and artificially enhanced so that it tastes too good not to eat. Kids don’t argue about eating it… everyone’s happy. How can we stand a chance?! It’s ‘easier’ to make UNhealthy choices than to proactively make healthy ones. Commercials lead us to believe it’s all good… and that there are always drugs we can take if we get too sick or feel too many symptoms. Perfect.
I realized that I’ve got to work a LOT harder to help more people. I realized how enormous the battle against childhood obesity, adult obesity and chronic illness really is.
It was ironic, being there last weekend “celebrating” the fact that so many cookies were sold. Yes, we had a fantastic time as a family, and yes, the kids had a fantastic time with the other kids. But, it was certainly sobering as well.
It’s not just about our weight, by the way. Being overweight is an indication of a lack of health. That’s what worries me the MOST.
Thankfully, a healthier body weight is the natural by-product of making healthier choices overall. EVERY healthy choice we make adds up over time. I talk about this extensively in my book and implementation program, “The 7 Essential Keys to Shedding Toxic Fat & Unwanted Pounds… The Last Weight Loss Solution You’ll Ever Need!”
I wish I had a few hundred copies to pass around last weekend. All the diets, work outs and weight loss gimmicks in the world won’t help if you don’t understand the core principles of achieving better health.
No matter how ‘bad’ things may seem right now with your health or your weight, the only way out of this mess is to build better health… one choice at a time! It’s the only hope we’ve got.
I’d like to apologize for not being as regular with my postings as usual in the past week or so.
