Because we're fat & lazy, duh!

Unfortunately, our current medical system focuses on "traditional" treatments: Heavily consumed with disease treatment, not prevention. The microscopes points at ways to engineer, modify, and manipulate our food and pharmaceuticals (see:drugs on both accounts). Yet obesity (not just overweight) rates are at an all time high and only continue to rise. Weight management is a billion dollar industry but somehow we still have a collective "weight issue."

I did a quick search for money spent on weight loss in 2008 and found this scary-cool meter that is racking up the dollars spent as we speak: over $61 BILLION! Modifying foods and get-skinny-quick scams are clearly not helping to lessen the burden. But we keep dishing over the dough in hopes that perhaps enough money, fat loss pills/meals/programs, and low carb/fat/protein food will save us from ourselves. Is this insanity to anyone other than me?!?!?!

Overweight and obesity are terms thrown together so often that I think they've lost their individual identities. Let's break it down: if you are a female and you have roughly between 30 and 40 percent body fat you are overweight. Okay let's stop to think about what THAT means. 30-40% BODY FAT. 30-40% FAT. hm. Sure we all need a little protective fat padding around organs, to keep us warm, etc. etc. But 40%? I don't think so. Alright so that's just overweight. What's obese? Obviously over 40% body fat. Checking into America's OBESITY numbers we proudly rank numero uno followed not-so-closely by our neighbors to the south: Mexico.

Check out this other scary-cool graph on the CDC site of obesity trends in the past decade http://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/trends.html In 1999 we were split between the 15-19% and 20-24% categories. A mere two years later, in 2001 a new color pops onto the map: Mississippi shows us 25-29% of their adult population is obese, with the rest of the country in hot pursuit; upping the majority of states to 20-24% obesity rates. In 2005 another new color appears showing a few states with "greater than or equal to 30%" obese populations. By 2007, the overwhelming majority of our states reach the 25-29% rates. Remember, this is for obese rates: females over 40% body fat & males over 25% body fat. If this trend continues, we'll be in the black, my color choice for the next category. Yes black- as in the grim reapers favorite attire color :)

The weight toll goes beyond our egotistical desires to look good and stay young. We all know carrying around even a few extra pounds impacts our joints, guts, vital organs, mood, and performance across the board. All that damage over time, or even the ups & downs, impacts our vitality, quality of life, and even life span.

I recently read an article that said by 2015 we'll have more people over 65 than under 5 years. old. We're an aging population. And of course with the "miracles of modern medicine" why shouldn't we? Because we're fat and lazy! duh. Look at the data. We're living longer, more unhealthy and less satisfying lives at the cost of food?

We clearly have our priorities backwards.

Ah, but Sara you have good genetics and have always been skinny. Hello?!?!? I think not. Both sides of my family are American Indian and English with a little Irish thrown in on my mom's side for good measure. American Indians have a renowned struggle with diabetes because of their weight and the English aren't far behind the above mentioned Mexico in obesity rates.

I have an up-hill battle as well my friends. I live in the same obese country as my fellow Americans, have not-so-on my side genetics... but one thing I do have, that the weight loss product purchasers of the world don't have....drum roll please......is internal motivation.

Big let-down on the secret to weight management, huh? Yep, once again you have to take personal responsibility every single day, every single choice, to get and stay fit. I face the same dilemmas as you: I could sit on the couch, read my OK magazine and eat Cheetos (which I actually have done and will probably do in the future), OR I could put down the trashy mag, put away the Cheetos and press something heavy like a kettlebell, or go to the track for a few 100meter sprints (btw, you want ab work? Forget thousands of lame crunches, run some sprints homie).

It's that simple? Yes, it's that simple. Put down the food and pick up something heavy. Do it everyday. And yes, I am finally giving you permission to workout EVERY DAY, even multiple times a day if you want. Make it your world, not a marketers world.