Why Are We Getting Fatter?
The other day I walked into what I believe is one of the only healthy
sandwich shops available in my area for lunch. I was between clients
and had only about fifty minutes to spare. While I was standing
in line I started looking around the room and wondering why we as
a nation are getting fatter. Why are so many of us gaining enormous
amounts of weight? I want to pose two questions, and then I will
give some supporting questions for each, which are more detailed.
1) Are we just getting lazy by the day? 2) Are our choices for healthy
food selections limited? Next I will tell you what we need to start
doing to turn our lives around for a great health and fitness lifestyle.
Laziness?
Are we really getting lazy by the day? How many times have we gotten
frustrated because our TV controller does not work and we have to
get-up and manually change the channel? How many times do we take
the elevator instead of the stairs? How often do we take our car
to a car wash instead of washing it ourselves? Do we ever just wait
someone out in a parking lot to get the spot close to the store
without the long walk? Is it easier for us to come home after a
long day at work and just eat dinner and watch TV, without going
to the gym or even going for a walk?
Limited Healthy Food Selections?
What do we have to choose from? Is it a late night drive-thru for
fast food? Do we eat some supposed fat-free chips full of hydrogenated
or partially hydrogenated trans-fatty fat? Are many of our choices
of low sugar foods just filled with sodium and extra things we do
not know are unhealthy? Does low fat sometimes mean high sugar to
make something taste okay? Do we have kids who just want to stop
by a fattening fast food restaurant because the marketing geniuses
behind the company make it bright and colorful and give it a playground
(which many kids are too big and overweight to play on)?
After going over the previous two questions, we should see that
we could relate to laziness and limited food selections much of
the time. We have become so efficient and concerned with time and
motion as a country that we do not stop to think if what we are
doing or eating is affecting us negatively. Laziness like taking
the elevator instead of the stairs may help us get to work faster
or get us to the next level of the mall faster, but it will slow
our calorie burning process in a huge way. Stopping by the fast
food place for a biscuit in the morning, just because you were late
getting out of the house for work is really threatening your cholesterol,
body fat levels and other important bodily functions. We need to
stop being lazy! We need to understand what are healthy food selections!
We should always make time during the day to get exercise. Get up
an extra twenty minutes early for a walk or take time at lunch or
when you get home from work. Do not just plop down in front of the
TV when you get home and stay there until you fall asleep. Go to
the gym. If you are not motivated enough, then call a friend to
go with you to the gym. When running errands make the time to park
farther away so you can get a little walk in. When you go shopping
at the mall use the stairs instead of the elevator to burn a few
extra calories and keep your body’s engine revving. If you
have a dog take him for a walk. Do not just let him out for a few
minutes and watch him from the window. If you can, take the time
to wash your own car on a beautiful Saturday afternoon and burn
a few calories. As far as food selecting goes you need to listen-up
and take this to heart for your heart. Do not eat fast food unless
there is absolutely no other option. Try to keep some snacks in
the car such as some unsalted almonds, apples, pears, bottles of
water, or some healthy protein bars (see local health food store
for info on bars). Make sure you get up an extra few minutes earlier
in the morning to make a healthy breakfast such as some eggs (one
yolk and the rest whites) and whole grain toast or a healthy protein
shake or a little fruit salad with some low sugar yogurt. If you
do not have the time for a longer wait at a good restaurant for
a healthy meal, then bring your own turkey on whole grain bread
sandwich or your chicken breast and salad (oil and vinegar dressing)
to work with you. If you bring your own you will be able to eat
right after your walk during lunch break. In the evening after work
and after you get back from the gym (doing resistance training and
cardiovascular exercise) prepare a light dinner of a lean meat and
vegetables dinner. Steam your veggies and grill a piece of salmon
and add your favorite spices. This way you will have a light, good
quality, low fat dinner after a great workout and a day full of
moving around and burning calories.
Healthy Food, Eating, and Calorie Burning
Tips:
- Eat real foods such as fruits, vegetables, and lean meats in
small amounts spread out four to seven times all through the day.
- Drink water all the time.
- Stay away from processed foods such as five slices of sliced
lunchmeat for $4.00.
- Stay away from fat-free foods which most of the time have fake
fats in them which are not usually listed on nutrition labels.
- Stay away from greasy foods.
- Stay away from foods high in sugar.
- Do not eat until you are full, only satisfied.
- Exercise regularly with weights and perform cardiovascular
exercises such walking, biking, skiing, rollerblading, etc.
- Use the stairs, not the elevator or escalator.
- Park further away at stores to walk a little.
- Take a walk with your dog.
- Wash your car to burn some calories.
- Join in on area fundraising walks.
- Take your kids to the playground and play with them.
We are getting fatter because of our own laziness and the limiting
of healthy food selections. We need to stop being lazy and get-up,
get-out and burn calories. Our bodies were made to move, so we need
to stay active. We should eat moderate amounts of healthy whole
foods. A good rule of thumb should be if Mother Nature makes it
(veggies, fruits, nuts, spices, and lean meats), it is healthy enough
to eat.
About the author:
David Gluhareff, CFT, lost over one hundred pounds from 1995-96
and became a Certified Fitness Trainer with the International Sports
Sciences Association. By the time he was twenty-five years old,
David had built a fifty thousand dollar a year personal training
business. To contact David Gluhareff, CFT (ISSA), go to www.trainwithdave.com.
|
