Why am I not losing weight?

That is what she said.

• Very little cardio.
• Walking, but leisurely while talking to friends.
• Refusal to truly watch what she eats.
• Then – and this is the kicker – not paying attention to what she eats. It doesn’t matter if it is not healthy as long as it is a 100 calorie pack. Oreos? Whatever.

Why am I not losing weight?

I have never asked myself that question. I never asked why I was overweight. I knew why. My son – 8 yrs – does not want an out-of-shape dad. He has said it to me in more than one way. He wants a healthy dad that can play with him until we both give out of breath. As much as I love the goodness of all those unhealthy foods, I love him, my daughter and myself more.

Our educational system has failed to address the issues of health. We should have a thorough knowledge of how our body works and how certain foods are good for us and how others are bad. This lack of continuing health education has created a nation of  unhealthy fat asses. Is there any other way to say it?

• Percent of adults age 20 years and over who are obese: 34% (2007-2008)
• Percent of adults age 20 years and over who are overweight (and not obese): 34% (2007-2008)
• Percent of adolescents age 12-19 years who are obese: 18% (2007-2008)
• Percent of children age 6-11 years who are obese: 20% (2007-2008)
• Percent of children age 2-5 years who are obese: 10% (2007-2008)

[from http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/overwt.htm]

And these stats are from 2007-2008!

We have become a country of people who rationalize our weight – more importantly, our health. Instead of pushing each other to get healthier (and make no mistake, it is truly about being healthier as opposed to looking like a movie star), we have told each other that we are just fine the way we are. Look around. Look at the stats above. We are not just fine.

Until we stop making excuses, nothing will change. Isn’t that what we teach to our children? Do we entertain our children rationalizing why they did not do their homework? I don’t. I turn off the tv and point them to their books.

This rant is sponsored by another couple of pounds lost. How? Exercise, counting calories and eating healthier foods. I am no where near the healthy man that I want to be, but it starts here. And I’ll be honest, the simplicity of enacting better habits made me feel like an idiot for not doing it before now. The plus side of getting healthier is the positive state of mind that you create for yourself. If you have multiple days of eating well and exercising, you start to take on some of the fun side of yourself that might have disappeared. Why? Because you are doing it. Really doing it. Or maybe that is just me.

“Yeah boy. This weight is coming off!” (Dancing in front of mirror doing Rocky dance).

I do the dance, laughing along with the out-of-shape guy in the mirror who plans on changing…a little bit more…each day. I’m unveiling next spring break. Bank on it.