The Right Body at the Wrong Time by Lou Haskins

 This BLOG discusses Being Healthy in America Today

My thanks to the anonymous gentleman pictured above. It appeared as an illustration in a report that I read about Visceral Obesity.  I hope he has been able to make the changes discussed in this BLOG, and is now healthy and fit!

This continues  Part II: The Right Body At the Wrong Time-Why is Change So Difficult? 

You can also go to  Body By Design Studio website and Body By Design Studio Newsletter to learn more about us and read previous posts on this subject to gain context.

I ended the last post by stating that the planning and action phases, (3 and 4) of the decision making process was where the problems begin.

Let's take a typical example. You want to lose weight. This time, you REALLY want it to happen, so without further ado, one morning, you begin.

It would go something like this. (some of this is from my many failed efforts in the past, by the way)
This is a more or less male example.  Ladies, you can fill in your terms and behaviors, you know what they are!  : )

The Internal Dialogue  - " I have got to get these extra pounds off! I look like a fat slob in these clothes! I'll look like a hippo when I go to the wedding! etc., etc. (you've been beating yourself up until things finally come to a decision climax!)

Your Plan - (such as it is) " I'll start tomorrow! No wait, that's Friday, and I've got stuff planned for the weekend-I'll start Monday.   
No bread, No potatoes, No ice cream or sweets! I know that sweet stuff and all those carbs are the problem.
Exercise! I know I have to do that too! I'll get up an hour early and finally start using those running shoes I got six months ago! I'll run as far as possible and increase the distance each day! That's GOT to get results! Cigarettes, weed and booze? Well, gotta start some where, I'll get to those later.

Action
MONDAY
Morning- Man, it's been a busy weekend!
I went to a great party!
Hell, since I was going to torture myself anyway come Monday, I pigged out on all the good stuff, watched the games on TV and vegged out!

So, now, I got out there and ran this morning, man, that was murder! But, I did get in about a half a mile, better than I thought!
Let's see, with all this running,  I don't have much desire to eat.
I'll skip breakfast,  I really don't care that much about it anyway, and stop at the Starbucks on the way to work. Great! This is working already!
Later-Wow! I made it all day! With no carbs and just some rabbit food, and with plenty of Red Bull, I'm rockin! 

Dinner time. With my serious calorie deficit for today, I can chow down tonight! I'll just be sure it's plenty of meat, whole grain bread and veggies; the wife's got frozen corn and some  French fries ready to go.

Bedtime - Man, that air-popped popcorn tasted more like air than popcorn, but a couple of Slimjims helped. My total calories had to be 1/2 of what I usually eat!

TUESDAY
Morning Well, I did run today, but my legs are killing me! I don't think I even did as much as yesterday. Well, at least I'm staying on my diet, plus plenty of coffee; and I made it a latte today since I'm burning all these calories!

Noon I'm hanging tough! At the meeting today, cookies looked good and I wanted some, but I didn't touch them.


Dinner time. Told the wife all I want is bacon and eggs. I know from reading the Atkins Diet, I can eat as much of that as I want!


Bedtime  Cantaloupe!
A Low Carb Diet, I read, lets you eat that kind of stuff if you're feeling really hungry

I weighed myself. I lost three pounds!

ENOUGH ALREADY!
 Just writing this is reminding me how miserable I was when trying to lose weight in this manner.
This type of behavior and the variations of it will not allow you to achieve your goal!
There are so many things wrong that it's doomed to failure, it's just a matter of time. 
Let's see....feeling deprived, can't eat your favorite foods or do the things you like, sore and achy all over.........

No Sane Person Wants That for a Lifetime!

Here's why this approach cannot be maintained.

First and foremost, the reason.
I want to lose weight - will not stand the test of time. That's why we always gain it back. 
Remember when I said you have to convince yourself that not making the change would be a disaster? This does not come about by thinking you're getting a little fat, or wanting to look good for the beach or reunion. 
A healthy and fit lifestyle has to be identified as the change that needs to be made. This doesn't come about easily. 
Usually, the first time it crosses your mind is when your faced with your own mortality.   " If I get through this, I'll never______________(fill in the blank) again!"
If you're young when you have this epiphany, it often passes, and you're back at the old bad habits. 
A small, wise percentage of people take action then and there. 

Usually, the next wake-up call is in middle age, when long time family, friends and acquaintances suddenly start dying or suffering injuries.  Heart attacks, cancer, diabetes take their toll; bad backs,  sore feet, digestive problems become common.
Let me remind you, NONE of these are caused by germs or bad luck.
(There will be a post on "bad genes made it happen"  in a future blog post) 

During this period in life, many more people take the hint and adopt healthier lifestyles.

I was not one of them! 

I was 59 in this picture, fast approaching old age!

When I say I know how to help you be healthy and fit, I speak from experience! 

Take a look at the picture at the end of this section to see what I look like now.

So here I am at 59, and I finally wised up!
People I know and love are dying, sick or disabled; and I'm feeling the effects of lugging around all this excess poundage.
I Finally get the message. The next funeral I attend may be my OWN!

to be continued

The Right Body in the Wrong Time - Part II, Why Is Change So Difficult?

WHY IS CHANGE SO DIFFICULT!

If you're finding this blog for the first time, please go back to part ONE of this series to put this section in context.
If you've read part one, congratulations! You're entering the second of a SIX  part decision making process. 
Reading this has moved you from the Precontemplation Phase (1) to the Contemplation Phase (2).
If you continue through this process, you will be making one of the most important decisions of your entire life - taking charge of your own health!

But! Don't stop here!

So far, this is the EASY part!
Many of us think about it, not so many of us manage to follow through.

Take smoking, for example.  
It's EASY to quit smoking!
I did it at least eight times!
The real problem is maintaining the change you want to make!
Before we discuss why this is, I invite you to regard the section below. It was developed by behavioral scientists to figure out the decision-making process; how people develop and sustain the behavior they desire when making the changes.

People like me are trained to help you make the changes in the least disruptive way possible, once YOU decide you are ready.
Take a look at the first two stages.

Precontemplation simply means you're not thinking about the subject, don't have a clue, or just don't care!  
Some people in this stage can get very angry or defensive. They'll take comments you make as criticism, when, in fact,  you think you're trying to help.   
So, save your breath.  People change when they are ready! 

Until a person becomes convinced that change is needed, until you are aware you have to change, until you feel compelled to change, nothing will happen!
You may try a few times, but that is a desire to make a change. Without a plan and knowledge, the chances of permanent success are not good.
Until you fully embrace the idea that NOT making the change will be disastrous, nothing is likely to happen! 

So, let's say you have reached this point, and you're contemplating.
What's next?
Here are the next two stages.

OK, so now your saying to yourself, "I'm really gonna DO this!"

About this time, "STINKIN THINKIN" starts to creep in.

"I've tried before and I can't stick to it."
" I really don't have time to do this."
" I don't want to go on the cardboard diet!"

This is only natural. After all, you know it's not going to be easy.
Who wants the miserable feeling of failure?
You have enough issues (we all have issues, don't we?) without adding others!

That's why educating yourself is so important!

If you take the time to learn about how the Western Lifestyle is KILLING us, the only possible conclusion you can make is, I HAVE to change my behavior to GET HEALTHY!

A word to those who are thinking, wait a minute! We are living longer than ever!

Define living, PLEASE! 

Does it mean groaning every time you bend down?
Or, lurching an overweight body from chair, to car, to couch every day?
Or, sitting on the couch eating junk food for hours each day while watching TV?
Does living the Western Lifestyle, taking multiple meds, trips to doctors, heartburn, arthritis, fear of diabetes, an imminent heart attack or stroke really LIVING?

I call it EXISTING! 

I had a discussion just yesterday with a dear friend. He's like a son to me, and 48 years old. He's Cambodian. When he came to this country as a teenager, he was unable to speak English. Now he has his own auto repair and sales business. He's doing extremely well.
He looked sad, and I asked him why. 
His answer was,  " All my other older friends  die Lou!  I tell them, NOT smoke, NOT drink, TOO fat! They don't listen!"
He had lost five friends in one year!


There's NO reason a person considered "elderly" can't live a HEALTHY LIFE and do ALL the things a person of THIRTY can do!  
Re-read the above paragraph to understand the alternative!

Okay, I'm realistic. What once I did all night, now takes me all night to do once!
I admit it!
I'm 71 !!!
BTW, Soon, my bio will be available on this blog.

So, maybe an older person, say, over 60,  can't do all the things as long, or at the same pace as one much younger; but any activity should be possible,  
There should be NO physical limitations until and unless a specific medical condition requires it!
Avoiding this is what we are  all about!


Remember, with proper instruction from a knowledgeable, qualified exercise trainer, and  supervision from health professionals if you have existing health/illness issues, the nearly every human body is capable of remarkable improvement; no matter how bad the condition when you start!
The general media is beginning to popularize this, but scientists have known it for years. Now, almost every program structured to treat disease includes exercise, even cancer, arthritis, diabetes and most others. That's because any improvement in muscle tone and cardio-respiratory function improves your existing condition!
Does this sound like a lot of work?

RE-READ THE PREVIOUS PARAGRAPHS! 

It really comes down to this - for the rest of my life:

Do I, live healthy and well?

Or, do I  spend years suffering and in misery while circling the drain?

If you have read this far, you are now at the Preparation Phase (3) of the decision making process for change, and getting ready to implement the Action Phase (4).

Below are the last two phases, (5 and 6)

THIS time, your program will be successful!
It will be successful because YOU are taking charge of your health; and, I am going to help you.

You will plan during the preparation phase so that the action you take will result in you reaching phases 5 and 6. 
I will say that I wouldn't have used the word termination for the last phase, it sounds a little ominous don't you think?
How about Permanent Process? I like that better!

Next, we'll discuss the planning and action phases, and why this is where most people get in BIG trouble and FAIL.

To be continued

 

Right Body - Wrong Time part I- by Lou Haskins, CPT

Being Healthy in America Today

Part I of a 3 part post

Do you remember a parent or teacher telling you as a child to sit still and be quiet? There are many influences today that send the same message. Unfortunately, that lesson was too well learned, because today, our sedentary lifestyle is doing severe damage to our health.

To put this in perspective, let's consider what affected the health of our ancestors, the hunter gatherers. It's true they didn't live as long as modern man. 
However, when they died, it was almost exclusively due to trauma and/or the infection that followed. Even if our ancestors weren't eaten by a predator, cause for injury was everywhere. 
Life was tough in those days. Food was often scarce and physical activity was nearly constant. 

Life didn't permit inactivity, and food was too scarce for one to get fat!


Now, let's fast forward to about 20,000 years ago, to what many anthropologists call the WORST health choice mankind ever made, agriculture!
How can a scientist make such a statement, you ask?
Well, it seems that as mankind devoted more time to herding animals and raising crops, we also assumed the associated risk of the many diseases caused by bacteria and viruses.
 Instead of the hunter-gather tactic of moving away from a place as it became contaminated by waste and germs, people had to stay put until the crop grew.
Instead of being hunted, domesticated animals were now living (literally) with the people that cared for them.
Fossil records show that during this transition, people doing agriculture actually shrunk in size; about three inches. Their bones also show the effect of disease and poor nutrition due to less food variety. But, at least famines were less likely.
And, we humans are persistent! Collectively, we increased our numbers. We spread out across the world; now, no single local disaster could eliminate the human race.

However, during this period, the greatest cause for death became pathogens; Black Plague, Scarlet fever, Tuberculosis, Flu Pandemics, etc.
All the dangers of crowding together in a local space in this period were unleashed. Germs were the biggest threat to survival; but, we managed to out-breed the losses. Life wasn't very pleasant then, and  was still too difficult to allow many people to get fat!

One hundred years ago, although it may be hard to believe, the average person used enough calories in his daily routine to equal TEN extra miles of walking compared to today's average American!
Until about 1950, only the privileged few had the means to be sedentary/overweight.

For the rest of us, life was still too strenuous.

After WWII and the Korean conflict, Americans entered into what's called "the Golden Age".
We had unprecedented access to food, security and leisure. The big thing was "labor saving devices"
I'm old enough to remember this period, it was GREAT!
Too great! We started eating more and doing less.  What seems to be a normal lifestyle and diet today, is the opposite of what is good for us; almost the exact opposite of how evolution shaped the human race! 
 Take a look at the USDA graph pictured here.

 The percentage of overweight/obese adults is very low in 1960 compared to the 2/3rds of adults overweight/obese today. What's even more compelling is the 1960 figure that shows NO overweight children. There were not enough of them to be statistically significant! And yet,  today, childhood obesity is considered epidemic.

What's killing us today is not germs, but lifestyle! 
Heart attack, cancer, stroke, diabetes, COPD etc., are primarily due to the "Western Diet" and inactivity! 

Our bodies have spent millions of years evolving to make the most of every bit of food we consume, and to conserve that energy for when it is really needed.

So, don't blame your body, it's doing a great job (for a hunter gatherer)!

Ask almost anyone what is needed to be healthy, and they'll probably say,"Eat right and exercise". Easier said than done.
The next installment will explain why it's nearly impossible to do this in today's society.