A Big Shame
So what did I miss while I was on vacation last week? Well, I stepped into a grocery store and saw Kirstie Alley on the front cover of the National Enquirer looking heavier than ever. Yes, I considered the source and didn't buy the magazine, but this has been on my mind ever since. And since the Enquirer doesn't see fit to include any print articles on its Web site, here is a blog post regarding this story, followed up by several hilarious comments, including some imaginative poster names such as "Curly Fry."
But I'm not laughing, and I'm not going to diss on Kirstie. Even though I'm not a fan, she is a human being and must be going through some enormous pain (no pun intended!), whether she is aware of it or not. I just think it's a huge shame. Kirstie is clearly a role model for hundreds of thousands, if not millions of people around the world. So she takes goodness knows how much money from Jenny Craig, revitalizes her career, and then what...sends out a message that losing weight is impossible? I would assert the following:
- Yes, being thin is difficult, but...
- Being really obese or even morbidly obese is difficult as well
- It's mostly a head game (i.e., if you don't change your thought processes, you will remain overweight)
- It's mostly (i.e., 70%) about what you eat, and not about working out (and I love to work out)
- Americans are painfully ignorant about nutrition, and this ignorance permeates all economic and social classes
- Sure, it may be cheaper to eat crappy food like McDonald's, which could explain why lower income people are more disproportionately obese, but I think this is a cop-out as well.
- Why is it a cop out? Most of the major grocery chains offer private label frozen entrees that are reasonably good for you, and are dirt cheap. Safeway, for example, has its "Eating Right" line of frozen entrees. For Safeway card holders, these meals, which average around 300-350 calories each, are perpetually on sale for $2 each. Want to create your own Jenny Craig diet? Easy. Eat three of these entrees per day, plus a salad with tomatoes (yes, tomatoes!), a big fat apple, and a Balance Bar. Total calorie intake? Somewhere around 1500 calories per day. Most people will lose weight with this regimen. And they'll be incredibly bored. Tough shit. Oh, and total cost per day? Ten to eleven bucks per day. Oh, and don't forget the eight glasses of water. That would be good old fashioned tap water.
- Americans fill themselves with myths like having a slow versus a fast metabolism, having bad genes, etc. This isn't the case for most of us. What do I base this on? I'm old and have a lot of wisdom. Also, I read a great book a few years ago that I highly recommend, "The Volumetrics Weight Control Plan," by Barbara Rollins. Basic premise: a calorie is a calorie, and a calorie not burned is a calorie gained. Figure out your burn (Rollins offers a rough guide for doing so), and figure out your diet, preferably with bulky foods that increase satiety.
- I'm not sitting in the cheap seats here. I lost 40 pounds several years ago. So how did I become so heavy in the first place? Easy. My first job working in a company versus a PR firm, with its own cafeteria, had me eating bacon cheeseburgers and fries every day. My weight crept up to nearly 220 pounds, my waistline expanded to 38", and my blood pressure got too high.
- This issue is costing me and it's costing you. Every day and in every way. Your health insurance. Your taxes. Read the papers. Read the recent Time cover story regarding childhood obesity.
- This is serious serious stuff. And I'm as serious as a heart attack regarding this post. I truly find this epidemic disturbing. Even in health conscious and affluent Incline Village, Nevada, I saw a noticeable increase in overweight people on the beach and in grocery stores compared to just a few years ago.
- And no, I'm not tired of reading about this stuff. How about you?
