My brother sent this link to me about one of the latest obesity studies.
Wow. The best state out there has a ratio of 1 in every 5 adults being overweight. Think about that. 1 in every 5 is the best we can do. And if you look at kids, the numbers are even uglier.
So, my question for you is this: What does this mean to our trillion dollar health care reform initiatives? It means that as everyone gets older — especially all those baby boomers that are starting to retire — it’s going to cost a lot more than that. And if it costs more than that, it’s going to fail. Of course, I’m making a big assumption that it would succeed in the first place. Comparing the costs to the taxpayer, obesity makes smoking look like pocket change. Can’t wait until the government decides to levy 25% tax rates on bacon and butter only to find out soy is worse for you. Then they’ll offer tax breaks to folks who buy new fitness related items only to realize that Americans already spend more money on fitness than anyone else but I digress.
It means that until this country gets up off our asses and stops shoveling crap into our pie holes insurance premiums will be so high that no one will have any health care coverage. And before you get all up in arms, I put myself in there as well. I lost 20 pounds 10 years ago and since then have put it all back on plus an extra 5.
Which brings me to my training update. Since starting 5 weeks ago now, I’m down a measly 4 pounds. On top of that, I failed to listen to my body and pushed harder to try to lose more weight. The results? Running too far, too fast has led me to cramping calf muscles and signs of developing shin splints. So, now I’m using the exercise bike instead.
Why no real success yet? I failed to accomplish my number 1 goal. Do you remember what it was? The one thing I said would prevent any of the other life changes from being successful. I was going to get more sleep. On top of that, I really haven’t watched my eating because when I’m tired and wore down I lack the wherewithall to say no to bad food that tastes really good. So, I pushed the training harder and harder and now have to dial it way back. So, my personal health care reform plan seems to have hit some snags as well.
Yet, I’m still hopeful. Why is that you ask? You were asking that weren’t you? Anyway, I’m on vacation next week. So, I should get caught up on some much needed rest. I also tend to eat worse the more stressed I get. Less stress should mean less eating. And I’ll have plenty of time for exercise. With some planning and maybe a little luck, I’m hoping to replace some bad habits with a few good ones and they will hopefully carry on after my time under the stars in the northwoods.
That was quite a rambling post. I must really need that vacation so my brain starts working again. Thanks for reading to the end.