Fatter and Fatter

How many times have you tried to lose weight and failed?
The average person who struggles with weight has been on many different programs and regained the weight in less than a year. Most of us are experts in finding excuses as to why we couldn’t maintain our losses. Pregnancies, children, relatives, spouses, jobs, menopause, age, you name it and it’s been used as away to fall off the diet wagon. Most of the time it’s because the diet we choose is not sustainable.

Goat milk for breakfast, yak eggs for lunch, and buffalo tartare are not very appetizing after a week or two. Of course, I’m being ridiculous, but if you check out most of the so-called plans configured to get you to lose the five pounds a week they promise, they’re usually predicated on boring regimens that end up driving you to eat five hot fudge sundaes at a sitting. The fact that the general population is getting fatter and fatter has created quite a conundrum for the medical community. Researchers in the field of weight loss are furtively seeking a solution.

Every week we are given the results of some study that speaks to the possibility of something that might be precipitating the increases in our waistlines. A virus has been implicated. I don’t know which one, but it certainly adds to my bag of excuses. I can recall a particular cold I got ten years ago that might be the culprit for some of my weight gain. Hanging out with people who are overweight seems to have some legs, albeit heavy ones. That could work for me, only my pals vary in size, so I guess I’ll have to have them weighed so I can spend more time with the heaviest one. I just won’t be able to tell her why.

Having a mate that likes to eat everything in sight is another problem, and so is how much stress you have. If you have a lot of stress and your partner overeat, you’ve won the “excuse” lotto. If the afore-mentioned doesn’t work for you, not to worry, the latest finding is that scientists have discovered “obesogens” found in plastic bottles, high fructose sugar, pizza boxes, vinyl flooring and shower curtains. So there you have it. If people are tired of your excuses, just tell them that you’ll soon be as slim as a knife because you’re not taking a shower anymore, eat pizza or walk on your kitchen floor.

“The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” Franklin Roosevelt

Whenever I felt frightened about a new venture, my mother would share her favorite quote by Franklin Roosevelt “ The only thing we have to fear is fear itself”. That has stayed with me through many a scary time. It made so much sense but unfortunately I think the times have created a new metaphor around fear. Essentially, we are now in the midst of a culture that seems to love to dole out fear as if it were candy for the masses.

Not a day goes by without some news that informs us that we must avoid something that might be detrimental to our well being. If you watch any of the 24 hour news channels, you’re more than likely to discover something frightening every few minutes. Even if the anchor person is discussing a subject that is somewhat tepid, you can rest assured that they’ll be a scroll underneath them reporting on a murder or a new salmonella scare. Our bodies are programmed to help us to “fight or flee” if we are under siege. This mechanism is at the ready whether it is real or imagined.

If our perceptions are such that we feel under attack many times during the day, the constant flooding of cortisol throughout our systems will eventually damage our bodies ability to keep its’ immune system intact. It will also make us anxious and or depressed. In today’s world the media seems focused on scaring the living hell out of us as a form of entertainment. This segue ways into every nook and cranny of our lives. Eating a meal with friends or family has become riddled with dialogue about whether the ingredients are healthy or harmful. One day we hear blueberries could lead us to the promised land the next we are on the road to damnation.

Children are so protected that the days of seeing them running around outdoors is becoming practically extinct. It could make the national news if someone sights a group of kids playing kickball in the streets without helmets, kneepads and an emergency medical kit close at hand. Talking to a stranger in a line at the grocery store might kill you if they have the slightest sniffle and you had better reflect on your behavior if you talk too much, flush the toilet too many times or have a need to call your mother too often. Maybe it’s time to stop feeding the piranhas of fear. Information can be useful or useless. It’s up to you to sort it out. Use it wisely and don’t become its’ slave.