Obesity is on the rise and a full 75% of our citizens are overweight or morbidly obese. Type II diabetes is at a record high. I know a lot of folks blame hormones in food, GMOs and antibiotics in cows. I can't say for sure these aren't contributing factors. I'm not a doctor, so it may be the case. But I have my own theory. I think it's because we have easy access to food, and we avoid exercise like the plague.
Yep, we have perfected the art of sitting on our ass. We'd rather take a bullet to the knee than exercise. I'm the first to say that I could be a professional couch sitter. I love it. Turn on some Netflix or Hulu, give me some pretzels, and I'm good for hours. I sat my way to 262 pounds. Okay, that wasn't cool, but my television watching skills were second to none!
When I realized I was approaching three bills on my 5'2" frame, I finally lost weight. Keeping it off, however, has been a challenge. Overweight people are some of the best dieters out there, but keeping the weight off once it's lost is the real problem. It's like in the Seinfeld episode where Jerry reserves a car but they rent it out before he gets there. He says, "You can take the reservation but you can't hold the reservation - and that's really the most important part." Keeping the pounds off is the most important part.
Weight loss is a simple formula, really. Calories in versus calories burned. You have to eat right and move your body to lose weight. So why do we avoid using our bodies for the work they have evolved to do? Why do we try to lose weight by severely restricting calories but not exercising?
There was a time when fitness was not for vanity, but for our very survival. I imagine our female ancestors didn't run through the African Savannah to get on the cover of Neanderthal Illustrated. More than likely, she was trying not to get eaten. Since Kroger hadn't been invented yet, she also had to run to catch her supper. I can't even imagine how much fun that was. "Hmmm, what should we have tonight, family? Let's see what Mommy can catch!"
Even when we moved into the Neolithic period and began transitioning from a hunter/gatherer society to an agrarian one, we still had to work our asses off. All through antiquity and even up until the last century, people had to work demanding physical labor to produce their food. Did you ever watch Little House on the Prairie? Pa and Ma and the kids worked really hard, but often, their crops failed. It wasn't like they could run to the Piggly Wiggly when that happened.. They had no food. Period. It's hard to be obese when you're eating dry bread at each meal.
But here we are in modern times, and food is plentiful. There's no need to toil in the fields or chase wild animals. No beastly beasts are chasing us. We're at the top of the food chain! We can sit in comfort and watch our girth increase. Because of this change in our culture, people now make any excuse in the book not to move. I'm tired. My butt hurts. My mouse died. I have seen folks sit for ten minutes waiting for a parking place at Walmart, rather than parking farther away and walking. Is it any wonder we're getting larger?
But it's not just about our weight. Exercising is good for so many other things; weight maintenance is just a side benefit. I was feeling very sad about moving from my family and living in a new place. Winter came and I put on ten pounds! I was getting so depressed, I wanted to cry all the time. I started taking time for myself and began exercising everyday. I'm down 16 pounds, and my spirits are better. I feel alive again. Check out these ten reasons to exercise that having nothing to do with weight loss!
My father gave my daughter his old car when he died. She wasn't quite ready to drive and it sat in my driveway for several years. Finally, we cranked her up and she ran like crap. We hadn't used her, so she deteriorated. That's what happens when we don't move. We're like a car sitting in a garage. Don't be surprised when your car breaks down. Get it running before it's too late!
Has exercise changed your life? Share your story in the comments!
Physically,
Amanda Z
Domesticology
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