Health for life

Todays question is ripped from the headlines. (Woo hoo! Timeliness!)

Q: A recent study on calorie labeling in fast food restaurants showed that it didnt affect what kids ordered. Though the research was only conducted in New York City and Newark, the results still kinda surprised me.

Readers of CHG tend to be pretty aware of nutritional guidelines. Would calorie labeling affect what you ordered from a chain?

A: On the rare occasions I visit fast food restaurants (mostly on the road), definitely. Some of those salads, man - why not just have the burger?

Readers, how about you?

Want to ask the interweb a question? Post one in the comment section, or write to Cheaphealthygood@gmail.com. Then, tune in next Tuesday for an answer/several answers from the good people of the World Wide Net.

In 2004, the CDC published a study that found:

" ... the prevalence of overweight or obesity was 85.2% [among people with diabetes]."
- Prevalence of Overweight and Obesity Among Adults with Diagnosed Diabetes

Given the strong correlation between weight and type 2 diabetes, the following documentary might be worth a watch.

PBS is currently broadcasting "Fat: What No One Is Telling You", a film investigating the issues surrounding the obesity epidemic.

From their website:

"With 66 percent of U.S. adults either overweight or obese, our girth is a serious public health issue. Yet many of us still view being overweight as a character flaw, a lack of self-control, or even a moral crime.

But does fat really equal failure? FAT: What No One Is Telling You explores the myriad psychological, physiological and environmental factors that can make it so tough to shed pounds and keep them off. In this documentary, Executive producer Naomi Boak and producer/director Tom Spain, both Emmy Award honorees, share new scientific knowledge about hunger, eating, and human metabolic operation. This film also explains our psychological responses to food, and shows how external pressures (such as oversized restaurant portions and the unending barrage of food advertisement) make fighting fat so difficult, both on the personal and national levels."

You can watch a preview here:



Check their site for local listing dates and times.
________

So Ive been thinking a lot lately about New Years Resolutions, and why they so often fail.  I see it every year in the gym... As soon as January 2nd hits, that place turns into a mad house, a clusterfuck if you will.  A clusterfuck full of everyday, hardworking people who have been neglecting their health all year long, especially over the recent holiday season, and are now determined to get in shape and lose weight.  But this clusterfuck never lasts.  It slowly ebbs away as the winter months go on, finally reaching a low in the Spring and Summer when the weather is nice and people return to their normal lives.  Hey, at least it gives people something to focus on other than the harshness of post-holiday Winter.

Of course not everyone fails in their New Years Resolutions; about 12% of us succeed, according to a 2007 study (1).  Thats right... just 12% succeed...  88% fail.  This year, 9 out of 10 of us will fail with our resolutions.  And what do we want?  No surprise, weight loss tops the list (2).

Why the horrible success rate?  Why do we fail at our goals to begin with?  And how can we be successful?  After some serious reading and thinking, Ive come up with the following:  three things you can do to succeed in your New Years resolution this year!

1.)  Set goals that are consistent with who you are.
Perhaps the most important thing you can do before you set a goal... know yourself and your values.  I cant stress this enough.  Sean Croxton wrote a great article about this topic here, I highly recommend it.  You need to do some soul searching.  If the things that you value most are your family, your business, education, religion, and the New York Giants... maybe you need to rethink your goal of losing 100 pounds this year.  I dont see health, nutrition, or exercise anywhere in that list, so unless you plan on denouncing football and God in the process, you wont find long-term success there.  Theres nothing wrong with not caring about health.  Everybody is different, everybody has different values.  Know yourself, be confident in what you stand for, and set goals that make sense for you.  

But just because you dont value health as much as other things in your life, that doesnt mean you cant have a successful health-related resolution this year.  Just gauge your resolution to the value you place on it.  If you only kinda-sorta care, theres nothing wrong with setting yourself a goal that lects that...  something relatively easy, like giving up soda.  You dont have to change the world here if youre not so inclined.  Just know who you are, and know the level of commitment youre willing to put into it.


2.)  Make sure youre doing it for the right reasons.
At the deepest level, behind every human action lies one of two emotions:  fear or love.  Setting a New Years resolution out of fear is a dead end street.  If your goal is to lose weight, ask yourself why you want to lose weight.  Is it because youre afraid of being unattractive?  Are you afraid of having a heart attack?  Afraid that you dont look like a Victorias Secret model?  If you set a resolution out of fear, then at the deepest level, you dont really want it.  Youll find that even if you do get there, the fear still remains. 

On the other hand, if you want to lose weight because you love the way you feel at that weight, because you love your life and you want to stick around for a while, or because you love being the best person you can be... then carry on.  If you do it from a place of love, you will get the return on investment youre looking for.  Recognizing whether you are coming from a place of love or a place of fear isnt easy; it requires a lot of self-lection.  Its a fine line, but its a crucial concept.  It could be the difference between success and failure.  Dont do it because youre afraid of what others think of you... fuck everyone else.  Do it for you.


3.)  Set goals that are realistic and attainable.
Now that youve got the first two covered, you need to set a goal that is realistic, and perhaps more importantly, it needs to be conducive to long-term success.  In other words, dont try to lose 50 pounds by February.  A.)  You wont.  B.)  Youll feel like a failure.  and C.)  You wont maintain it.  And if youve never weighed less than 150 pounds in your adult life, dont set your goal weight at 110 pounds.  It will not happen.  Accept it.

You would be wise to set both long-term and short-term goals.  Set a long-term, overarching goal youd like to achieve, and set short-term goals that get you there.  Lets say you want to lose 30 pounds by the end of the year.  Thats totally attainable.  Divide 30 by 12 and you get 2.5 pounds per month.  Shoot for 2-3 pounds of weight loss a month as your goal.  If you lose more than that, great.  But keep your goals modest and keep your long-term goal in sight.  The constant success will keep you motivated and you might even hit your goal before you planned to.  If you do, good for you!  I know I know... slow, gradual weight loss isnt sexy, but its the only way to go if you want to keep the weight off long-term.  Its far easier to implement a minor lifestyle modification than an intensive one, especially over the long haul.  If you set out to eat zero carbs, and exercise 2 hours every day, youll fail.  Quickly.  Take your time, dont get carried away, and keep your long-term goal in mind... theres no rush.


There you have it.  Three bits of advice to aid you this year in your New Years resolution.  I hope this helps someone out there.  Has anyone had success with their resolutions in the past?  How did you do it?  And what are people going for this year?  Id love to hear from you in the comments!