Health Mirror: Reflections on Health

March 9, 2013 by NutraLady 4 Comments

To Which Mindset Do You Subscribe?

Back at the end of January, on my Facebook Timeline, I posted about a new Program coming out soon from our company, Skinny Body Care, to promote better health by way of weight-loss for teens. My post used a graphic the company provided showing two teen girls making fun of an overweight teen girl, suggesting that this is a form of bullying, which, in my opinion, it is.

One lady from one of my groups took issue with the concept that this is bullying, and also to the concept of encouraging teens to lose weight. She purports that we should be encouraging them to “accept themselves the way they are” and feel good about themselves, and not “put them down” for being overweight. She also stated that kids who are overweight are not really “bullied” by other kids for being overweight; kids will always make fun of each other for a while and then move on to make fun of some other kid in a few days. They shouldn’t be made to feel bad because they are overweight. We had quite a discussion about this, and finally I said we would have to “agree to disagree” on this subject. I then deleted the entire thread from my Timeline in order to keep the negativity of it off of my page.

So… I’ve been mulling this over ever since then; the more I thought about it, the angrier I got about it, and my thoughts on this have become crystal-clear!

There’s something I just have to say about it. I know that it’s not going to be universally agreed with, nor understood, because of the mindset of a portion of our society. Some will see it as “not politically correct” – which is a concept, in my opinion, way over-used and abused to further the sometimes nonsensical agendas of, again, a certain segment of our society.

I cannot worry myself with what anyone else thinks of me or what I am about to say. They will just have to decide to ignore me, I guess, or put me down for not being universally supportive of everyone, no matter what.

But here’s the thing…

They want those of us who are overweight to “love ourselves the way we are.”

I contend that, as “nice” as that sounds, it is not a HEALTHY mind-set, in any way, shape, or form. It follows the “No Losers” principle touted by the Politically Correct Crowd (one of which I am NOT) – you know, where everyone on the team is a winner just for playing, even if the other team won the game. That, however, is a whole other conversation…

MY OPINION:
Being overweight is UNHEALTHY, all the time, every time, for every person, young or old!!!

Seriously!!! Is there anyone anywhere who is really overweight (I don’t mean 10 or 20 pounds or so; I mean really a lot overweight), or obese, who is healthy??? Are they comfortable, physically? Do they “feel good” or even just okay? HOW CAN THEY??? I think not! Let me explain why I believe this…

I have personally been fighting the weight battle all of my adult life. It is not fun. It is not easy. It is mostly discouraging and depressing! I have known MANY people in my life who are in the same boat, and I have never known even one of them to be happy about it, ever! Well, let me re-state that. There was one very beautiful young lady who always seemed to be perfectly content with her size, and she stated that she was comfortable with her size, yet she still ended up trying to lose weight after a few years, following some serious health problems. She had some success a couple of times, and then just seemed to give up and “accept” herself again. My contention is that she was NOT happy with the way she was, was NOT comfortable, and was/is NOT healthy!

Personally, once I got above that 20-30 pound excess weight, I was no longer comfortable at all, and my health over the years just started to dwindle and went on a downward spiral from there. The heavier I got, the more uncomfortable I was! How in the world can anyone be comfortable with their stomach hanging down in front, or having thighs that rub together when you walk, giving you brush burns on your inner thighs, or running out of breath when walking or going up stairs? How can you be comfortable when your hips, ankles, knees, & feet hurt, swell, and are in pain from trying to support all the extra weight you are carrying? …when your back hurts from the extra weight you are carrying in your chest, stomach, and arms?

When we are overweight, especially if we are obese, we are NOT, by definition, healthy!!

Our society is ever-increasingly more and more overweight, and more and more unhealthy! Deaths from the complications of this malady have been on the rise for years!

Our children are getting heavier and heavier younger and younger. Heart disease, Diabetes, and other complications from overweight are becoming much more common at much younger ages. Our youngsters have begun to die from what used to be considered diseases of older people.

IT IS TIME FOR THIS INSANITY TO STOP!!!

There are many ways for this to be accomplished, many of which we can control on a personal level, and some of which need to be addressed on a societal level.

But the idea that we must “accept” it as normal, or even as “Okay” is just ludicrous!!!!!!

We need to first, realize for ourselves, and then teach our children that it is NOT okay to allow yourself to get to this unhealthy state of being, and we need to teach them how to accomplish being healthy and maintaining a healthy weight. It is NOT always our “fault” that we gain weight and cannot seem to lose it!! There are actual, real, and physical reasons why we get this way, and they CAN be overcome!!! We just need to learn how.

That is the reason this Blog exists ~ to examine, reflect upon, and figure out ways to change the view we see in the mirror.

What reflection do you see when you look in the mirror? One of shining health? Be grateful, and strive to keep it that way! Not so healthy? Then learn all you can and make any changes needed to regain and maintain your health and a healthy weight!! We will examine many aspects of this over time, and I welcome all who choose to join me on this journey.

Do you subscribe to the same mindset I do, the one that says overweight is NOT HEALTHY, and we should do all we can to overcome it, or to the one that says that it’s okay, and we should accept ourselves as we are, not strive to improve ourselves, and just get comfortable with the way we are, even if that means we are unhealthy and on the road to self-destruction and an early death from the complications of obesity and the diseases it spawns?

IT’S TIME TO FIGHT BACK, FOLKS!!! Let’s start a Health Revolution and MAKE A DIFFERENCE, for the sake of our children and grandchildren. Give them a fighting chance for their future!!!