Day Five and feeling really good. Still on my broth, diluted juice and jello diet but am actually enjoying it. I get up and doing some slow walking every hour and walk up and down the stairs once (not by choice the washrooms are either up a floor or down a floor) but none the less I do it. Now being home with my husband makes things a little different then me being home alone. When I am home I often don't have a tv on. This is just me...I love to read or just rest and be quiet but Geoff is a tv kinda guy. The minute he gets out of bed the tv is on. Well, since I have been sitting here watching the tv I have come to a few conclusions: 1) 3 out of 5 commercials are for fast food 2) Once an hour is a commercial that speaks about obesity 3) We are a confused nation.....the mixed messages that are sent to the daily viewer is insane.....for example commerical one is OLG play Ontario Lotto next commerical is about gambling! According to an article from the Canadian Press published March 2 2011 one in four Canadian adults are obese. An adult with a BMI (Body Mass Index) over 30 is considered obese. You can find many BMI calculators online to help you find out what your BMI should roughly be. I fall into a range of obesity that the doctors call super morbid obesity. That's right my BMI was 59. This was greatly disturbing to me one of the major reasons I decided to have gastric bypass surgery. I had surgery to save my life. The rise in children in Canada being overweight and obese has tripled in the last 25 years. The government of Canada realises that this is a complex problem and are working out programs to introduce more fitness and health into the school systems. A tax refund available to parents for sports and physical fitness programs for children under 16. Now these things are great but what else could be done. What could we do? How many times a day do you hear a Tim Horton's commercial or a McDonald's catchy jingle. Even if you aren't watching the commercial you hear about it and the next time you are strapped for time and drive by you thing "hey that hamburger or wrap or sandwich" looked great I"ll just stop quick....well at the counter or the window they do a quick up sale.....would you like fries or a salad with that or would you like to make that a combo? We, today's society is so busy and so not focused that we usually just say yes to keep the process moving quicker. There was 2 320 000 results shown for articles on obesity in Canada when I typed it into Google....Does that scare anyone? I read some of the articles and I was disgusted. Thirteen million Canadians will rate in the obese category in 2011. You cannot turn on your tv in the afternoon and not see Dr.Phil, Dr. Oz, Rachel Ray or some other program that isn't talking about weight gain and obesity. What to do, When to do it, How to stop it, How to get help. There seems to be answers all around us but we are sabbotaged by the environment, the economy, our heredity, our finances etc. The messages that Canadians....no that North American's are being sent are twisted. Stop and take a long look at what you eat? How many times a week are you physically fit? How many times a week are you stopping at a drive thru or a fast food restaurant? What are different choices you could make for your health for your families health. I am 36 years old and have just had my insides re routed to help me lose an enormous amount of weight as I could not get control of my weight gain but do you need to let it get this far? I am not saying that everyone needs to boycott fast food or stop eating out what I am saying is.....make smarter choices. Instead of two burgers one....instead of a double bacon cheese burger try a grilled chicken sandwich or a salad. There are definitely better eating choices we could make. I challenge everyone to make a point of taking just one hour a week to go for a long family walk or hit the local YMCA for family swim. Encourage your friends, family, kids, neighbours to get out and get active. The time is now and our heath is at stake! Dont' become at statistic. Overweight and obese people become the people with heart problems, type 2 diabetes, circulation issues, gout, osteoarthritis, certain types of cancers, hypertension, high cholesterol, complications in pregnancy and female reproductive organs. The Canadian Heart and Stroke Foundation states that from 1985 to 2000, 57,000 deaths in Canada were associated with overweight and obesity. Now this number has increased in the last 11 years causing an alarming debate that has made it's way to our parliament. New programs and more templates for health promotions are being requested at a parliamentary level as well as a call for a ban on trans fats and more detailed nutritional labels on packaged foods. I know that my daughter's high school removed the junk food machines and french fries from the cafeteria and brought out more fruits and other healthier choices for the students. We can make a difference folks, if not for anyone else but ourselves then so be it. One person at a time, remember "don't let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do (John Wooden).
Steph
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