I’ve been working out since the start of the New Year and things are going well. I’m down 5 pounds of mostly water weight and some of the latent fat I had on. I’m also eating better and paying attention to everything I do and eat.
But as I worked out last Saturday, I began to think of all the folks who were walking past the gym towards the nearby Kupcake Korner, Quizno’s, Starbucks or pizza place. Kind of tough not to as I stared out the window and saw them all drive into the parking lot, walk towards these places and begin to eat.
Don’t get me wrong: I don’t hold it against them for doing what is pleasurable, available, and (here’s my point) encouraged in America. Fact is that being fat in our fair land is taught and reinforced by just about every group or level of society.
You got all As in your report card? Let’s go eat and celebrate!
The team won first place? Pizza party!!
We got an office meeting…catered.
I need to get those people to like me. I’ll bring cookies!
We eat when we’re happy. We eat when we’re sad. We eat when we’re on the road, at home, with friends, and alone. If there’s a game, we got food. If there’s a movie, we got food. If we’re shopping, there’s food. In fact, the only time food is not available to us whatsoever is when we’re asleep…and in the toilet. And that’s because those two times are the only two times eating is frowned upon.
So we’ve a culture where we are surrounded by food at all times. This might be a problem if the food surrounding us was healthy. But it isn’t. It’s fat and loaded with salt and sugar. It’s built on a complex combination of loads of fats, carbohydrates and the barest mention of protein possible. It’s been designed by teams of chemists to taste delicious and become addictive.
You have to fight through all that if you want to lose weight. Here’s the kicker: do it and all of a sudden you become the health nut. The freak. You’re not only the one in the wrong, but you’re the one who doesn’t fit into our society. And the truth is…you don’t.
Even with thousands of dollars in ad campaigns, people will continue to gorge themselves into high pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol, heart attacks, strokes and so forth. In short, we can’t save everyone. We can only save our own selves.
Fiero Fredo 