YOU ARE WORTH THE CHOICES THAT YOU MAKE
Everyone has their own reason for wanting to get in shape. It could be after a major life event, in anticipation of a special occasion, or sometimes people come to us for help because they are just plain fed up with what they see in the mirror.
The motivation is often rooted in an unhappiness with themselves and what they’ve allowed their physical body to become. There’s nothing wrong with wanting to improve your health so that you are happier with the way that you look. It’s not the answer to fulfillment in life, but it is a noble effort.
The main reason that we want to take people on a journey that results in them changing their physical body is because their lives could potentially count on it.
Being overweight or obese is a life threatening condition.
Our bodies were not made to carry excessive levels of body fat. Buckle your seatbelts because here come some shocking statistics.
According to the CDC (Center for Disease Controls), 72% of adults over 20 years old are overweight. Read that again. Also, 40% of adults over 20 are obese. The fact is that as you walk around in your daily life and really start paying attention, seeing people who are NOT overweight is the exception. The National Institute of Health (NIH) defines obesity as having a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 30 or above. A BMI of 25-30 is considered overweight. BMI is the ratio of your weight (in KG) divided by the square of your height in meters. You don’t need to do that long hand though. Here’s an online calculator: https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/educational/lose_wt/BMI/bmicalc.htm
BMI isn’t the end all be all for determining health. If you’re very muscular you may have a BMI that lands you in the overweight or obese category. However, super muscular people are not the norm in America, so we still count on BMI as a reliable tool for looking at overall healthy levels of mass.
Another useful tool to use alongside BMI as a marker of health is waist circumference. Excess fat stored in the abdomen puts us at higher risk for many preventable diseases/conditions which we will discuss later. Increased risks are generally seen in waist circumferences above 40” in men and 35” in women.
Now let’s get to the scary stuff.
Here are some of the known health problems that can come along with carrying unhealthy levels of body fat.
Type 2 Diabetes
Heart Disease and Stroke
Sleep Apnea
High Blood Pressure
Cancer
Osteoarthritis
Kidney Disease
Fatty Liver Disease
Increased risk of complications with pregnancy/childbirth
Obviously these are all terrible things that none of us want to deal with as we age, but let’s talk a little bit more about a few of them.
Type 2 Diabetes - Remember our discussions about hormones in the past? Well, type 2 diabetes is when we develop a resistance to the hormone insulin that our pancreas produces. Insulin is responsible for regulating our blood sugar among other things. So in people who develop type 2 diabetes, their pancreas can no longer produce enough insulin to help regulate normal blood sugar levels. Although researchers do not know conclusively what causes type 2 diabetes, there is certainly a link to being overweight or obese. So much so that being obese (+30 BMI) makes you 80 times more likely to become type 2 diabetic. So why do we care about not being diabetic? There are a host of complications that can not only make your life more burdensome but can ultimately lead to death. About half of diabetics have neuropathy. That means damage to nerves. This damage can cause numbness, tingling, pain, weakness in limbs, loss of bladder control, erectile disfunction, and a bunch of gastrointestinal issues that you can probably imagine. Diabetics can also experience poor circulation as the blood vessels in the feet narrow and harden making it harder for blood to bring healing benefits to the limbs. This lack of blood flow is often related to diabetics needing to have feet and extremity amputations. The cost and hassle of taking medication and insulin injections pale in comparison to the many complications of diabetes. Trust me, you don’t want it.
Kidney Disease - The kidneys are truly amazing. They quite literally keep us alive by processing waste out of our blood, processing nutrients, producing hormones and producing urine. In diabetics, the kidneys can be called up to pull extra duty, filtering more blood than normal because of elevated blood sugar levels. Over time, that overwork can lead to the kidneys losing their ability to filter blood properly. Waste then accumulates in the blood and can lead to total kidney failure. At that point either a kidney transplant or going on dialysis are the available options. Dialysis is when the blood is filtered by an external machine to regulate waste, salt, water and other chemical levels in the blood. The process typically takes about 4 hours, 3 times a week and requires traveling to a facility that performs dialysis. Doesn’t sound like much fun does it?
Heart Failure - Just that title alone should terrify you. Heart FAILURE? Are you kidding me? I don’t think we have to explain how important your heart is to your overall health. It’s literally the muscle in your body that never gets a break. It needs to work 24/7 pumping blood to your brain, organs and everything else in your body. The facts are in that obesity is a substantial contributor to hypertension (high blood pressure) and enlarging/thickening of the left ventricle (LV) of the heart. Why do we care? Well, here are some of the symptoms of an enlarged LV:
Shortness of breath
Fatigue
Chest Pain
Dizziness
Rapid Breathing
All of these symptoms of an enlarged LV culminate in an increased risk of heart attack, stroke and heart failure. Basically by being overweight/obese, the heart is put on double duty and eventually cannot handle the extra workload.
The thing about all of these negative consequences of being overweight/obese is that they rarely happen in isolation. If you become type 2 diabetic, you probably also have high blood pressure, or one or more of the other listed complications. They compound upon each other and the lines of cause and effect between then become fuzzy. One thing that’s clear is that a lifestyle focused on overall weight loss improves ALL of the negative side effects. While diet/nutrition is the main driver of weight/fat loss, studies show that participation in regular exercise improves compliance in regards to weight loss efforts.
The bottom line is that you only get one ride on this earth in the one body that you’ve been provided.
Chronic disease due to overeating is the norm and is not only a burden on the overweight individuals themselves but on the healthcare industry and the loved ones that take care of them.
The resulting chronic diseases from being overweight and obese is the second leading preventable cause of death in America behind tobacco use.
Even small reductions in body fat levels can help start reversing these awful diseases.
The decision is yours.
It’s not easy, don’t get me wrong.
Temptation is everywhere and it’s almost like the “system” is rigged to make it difficult.
Misinformation abounds and exerting discipline and willpower in the face of endless choices can seem impossible.
But you’re worth it.
You’re worth the tough choices.
The sweet taste of being healthy and alive with energy lasts much longer than the sugar laced treats we crave.
You’re worth making the decision that enough is enough and you’re going change your family tree.
The choice is yours.