Divorcing the Scale

Are you unhappily married to your scale? Do the two of you have irreconcilable differences?  Many are stuck in such unhappy marriages and see no way out.  The scale may not lie, but it is only one gauge of one's overall picture of health.  We might want to always change what we see on the scale, but what really needs to change, is our relationship with the scale.

Many men and women have long, dysfunctional histories with scales.  When they see what they want, the relationship is good, and when it reflects otherwise, the relationship is failing.  Worse, many attribute major life successes and spikes of happiness in accordance with being a particular scale weight.  Truth be told, spikes in happiness have very little to do with how much one sees on a scale and more to do with other factors going well in one's life. This may be hard to admit, but it is true.  Are you aware that skinny people also suffer from unhappiness? Yes, it is true!

Pounds are pounds, and are sort of a generic, blanket metric.  Pounds shown on a scale do not just tell us "how fat we are", they reflect much more.  Pounds also include skeletal and lean muscle mass, as well as water weight.  If you are a large frame person, or operate at the high-end of athleticism and are more muscular, then you will weigh more than the average joe.  If unable to quantify what exists within the pounds, then we should not be pinning life's worth and happiness to them either. 

If you weigh yourself every day, multiple times per day, or use the scale as a means to flog yourself regularly as a failure, then you are in an abusive scale relationship. Forget about what your grandmother and mother have said to you in the past about "just needing to lose a few pounds".  Consider that with some basic resistance training, a loss of inches could be even more satisfying than being a certain scale weight.  Looking better in clothes, wearing a smaller size or having more muscle definition can be every bit as rewarding as that ever elusive scale weight.

Exercisers, whether achieving weight loss or not, still stand to lower their cholesterol (specifically triglycerides), blood pressure, and increase lean muscle.  They will strengthen bones, joints and connective tissues.  They will also enjoy improved cardiovascular health, increased endurance, mobility and balance.  These are all important measurables that are not reflected in the pounds we are obsessing over on our scales.  So, is it time you filed for divorce?

Crummy Health Equals Crummy Life

It is better to be proactive with your health than reactive. I work with many high risk individuals who can only wish they intervened earlier on behalf of their own health. They have given me a meaningful glimpse into the future. Poor eating and lousy exercise habits cost us our health and eventually, quality of life. One of the hardest things for me to see is someone taking their health for granted. Word to the wise: Once your health is gone, it can be gone for good. A price cannot be put on quality of life, and honestly, an unhealthy lifestyle is rather pricey. I shall elaborate.

If you are a smoker, are overweight, or take even one medication, you can expect to pay 50% more on your health insurance premium (in the individual market). This cost otherwise gets passed along to the employer of such individuals in group plans. Most health plans require a doctor visit co-pay, which may be expensive depending on the insurance plan and chosen deductible. Do not forget to include the co-pay on prescription medications, which, may or may not be covered by insurance altogether. Please also don’t forget about astronomical laboratory fees for blood work, etc. Start increasing the number of doctor visits and medications, and the costs add up quickly. Start getting into more serious health issues such as Diabetes, heart disease, or cancer and more medical specialists, office visits, medications and tests will be required. Even worse, secondary medications may have to be prescribed in order to control one or more side effects created by the primary prescribed. Ugh!

What people must realize is that their choices today will affect the quality of their life later on. Unnecessary weight gain now could mean a knee replacement or another degenerative, orthopedic issue in the future. Poor diet now will likely lead to high cholesterol and high blood pressure later. A sedentary lifestyle today will mean an even more sedentary lifestyle later in life.

The best defense with your health is a good offense, so get going NOW. Really, what are you waiting for? If you want to keep the total cost of your health ownership down, and the quality up, positive changes have to be made now. You will later reap the benefits of any positive investments you make today. My father passed away in his fifties due to poor lifestyle choices. I, however, am doing things differently to ensure that family history ends with him. Will you responsibly intervene in the legacy of your family’s medical history and on behalf of your health?

Look far into your future and decide if you want to be an active, healthy retiree playing with your grandchildren and traveling about, or if you would rather scuttle around coping with chronic pain in between doctor appointments and trips to the local pharmacy. You have a choice today, make the right one.

Eating Awareness and a Healthier You

Most active women require about 2000kcal per day, and men around 2500kcal to manage their weight.  If you are sedentary, or trying to lose weight, then caloric intake should be substantially less.  I will get more into the "numbers" of weight loss in a future blog.  Instead, today, I would like to encourage all trying to embrace a healthier lifestyle to bring more awareness to their eating habits.  Here are some points to consider:

• Do you live your life one meal at a time? Instead, try to think about your whole day in advance.  Will you be eating in, out or both? Will you be having cocktails and a lavish dessert later? We tend to overeat with a one meal at a time approach, but looking ahead offers opportunity to better balance calories consumed at each meal. If you want to enjoy a large dinner, then scale back on other meals. Or, as another example, make caloric trade-offs such as appetizers and no cocktails, or vice versa. The key is to make these choices and plan in advance of actual meal times/events.
• Do not confuse thirst for hunger. If you are at all thirsty, you are already dehydrated. Hydrate first, then eat.
• Try conscious eating at one meal. Slow down and chew your food. Eat a meal and do so without combining another activity like watching TV. What signals do your body give you that you are getting full? Most of us don't know the answer because we are combining eating with other activities.
• Try food journaling. Doing this for just one day can offer revealing info. There is usually a disconnect with what ends up on paper vs. what we "think" we are doing. Chances are also strong that there is a major shift between weekday & weekend eating habits. Visit mypyramid.gov and livestrong.com for additional diet tracking tools.

In summary, raising awareness of eating behaviors is the first step to a healthier lifestyle.  Negative behaviors can be changed once acknowledged to exist. Self-monitoring, self-education and conscious eating provide opportunity for good health to establish priority, and this leads to successful outcomes.           

Healthy Habits Start Early

Parents, your children need your help. During their formative years, they need help in establishing healthy habits. The lifestyle you lead and implement in your home today will affect them for the rest of their lives. Your children rely on you for everything, including proper nutrition & ample exercise. Do your kids get at least 60 minutes of physical activity daily, or are they always glued to a TV, video game or cell phone? Are they eating a decent breakfast, or are they sent off in the morning with a Sunny Delight and chocolate donut? Do YOU eat well, exercise and emphasize to them the importance of doing so? Your children are watching you, and what you do and don't do is extremely important. In the war against obesity, we must take more responsibility for our health and the health of our children. I've seen the negative, long term effects of poor lifestyle choices over & over again in my business. The fact is that bad childhood habits will segue into bad adult habits, with a host of health issues to follow. Assist your children in embracing and honoring their health. One of the easiest ways to do this is to make sure you are doing the same for yourself. Give your children opportunity to reach their full potential soaring with self-esteem and without physical limitations. Give yourself the incredible opportunity to witness it all.