I grew up skinny. I was the "runt" of my class, a little bitty dude with bad teeth and skinny, skinny arms. My mom used to hold my forearms in just one hand and comment on how skinny I was and that she was worried about me. One day, I got fat and felt good about it.
I recall eating everything I could find as those skinny, worried comments really stuck with me. Then I got fat, then fatter, then even fatter. What could have been passed off as a mere childhood worry morphed into a real live adult worry. After retiring from the bmx scene and opting for the academic and work world, I ballooned up like a free range tick. At the top of my fat acquisition program, I was up to nearly 245 lbs. That is basically two people in just one body, hence, my multiple personalities.
I made a decision about 75 days ago to change my life, my outlook, and my chances. It is working wonderfully and I am so please with my results and my new lifestyle. At times, I get to eat whatever I want. I can have a frosted funnel cake fiesta with cheese and cream gravy every so often as long as the other 90 percent of the time I am living a healthy lifestyle. It works. In just a couple of months I am down well over 20 lbs and a couple of dress sizes! My multiple chins are decreasing. I am getting healthy, not skinny and I love how it feels. I can do it.
So, I've listened to modern doctors, philosophers, and diet product salesmen tell me how bad off we are in the United States. They say we are in an epedemic of fat, diabetes, and choice related disease. The government, in their wisdom, initiated health insurance because of all the uninsured and sick people. Ha. I scoffed with great scoffiness. Surely these people are wrong....uh oh, I just got back from the beach in Port Aransas.
THE STUDY: BASED ON REAL SCIENCE AND MATH:
I decided to check the stats. I had to walk a bit from my car to the funnel cake stand as we approached Sand Fest 2011. I would make a count of people that were:
1. Over 30
2. Did not appear to have just had a child
3. Males and Females randomly
4. Chubby went into the "healthy" category, really fat went into the "fat category".
Here is what I found out: The government is right, we cannot OR will not take care of ourselves, so they need to do it for us. I am part of the problem, but I repent. I reject bad health as a choice. Here are what the numbers showed me and I am disgusted:
104 Sample People
78 Were grossly spilling out of their swimsuits and looked like three quarts of marshmellow fluff in a two quart pan.
26 Were chubby or less, with some actually appearing to be athletic. I did not count skinny kids of which I used to be one too.
About 75% of the beach population has chosen to live a less than fulfilling life, or a life with less health.
What is bad health and good health? Is good health just a lack of disease or symptoms? Nah, good health is something up the scale a bit where you are strong and feel good. Bad health is something less than zero on the scale. We need to choose good health. We need to treat the causes of our diseases where possible, and not treat the symptoms.
Tomorrow I start another 24 day advocare challenge with the people in my life. This time, I am stepping it up a bit and I don't even know what that means. We are also starting "40 DAYS OF PRAYER" at The Solomon Group. We sit around and pray with each other over our lives, our family, and our goals. Those 40 days end about May 27. If I hit my goals, and Audrey hits her goals, here is how May 28th plays out:
8:00 a.m. Limo picks us up and takes us to breakfast at Kerby Lane
8:45 Head to the local shopping to shop like a rockstar. Audrey gets 10 new outfits along with all relevant bling, shoes, hats, etc. I get a new wardrobe as well.
12:00 Noon Limo takes us to Dave and Busters (Audrey's Fave!) where we have lunch and play games for a couple of hours
2:00 Head to local Apple store: Audrey, Katy, Jenn, and I get to each purchase one item of our choice.
3:00 Finish shopping requirements
5:00 Limo takes us all to dinner at Melting Pot
7:00 Movie
9:00 Ice Cream
9:30 Limo Driver is exhausted and gets to go home!
It is a good goal, and I am eager to succede. Girls, this is for you.
I am so thrilled that we live in a country where we still have a choice to the outcome of our lives. Take that choice and make it count.
Cash Matthews
Solomon Group National Education Center
Creed: To Glorify God and help people.
2 comments:
I agree with everything you wrote except the part about government needing to do it for us. Yes, the government is right we are an overweight nation but the government should never dictate or mandate what we choose to eat.
I am proud of you for taking charge of your health, awesome! PS. That celebration day should include Katy's cocoa cola cake!!
Kelly, I totally agree with you. In fact, I want the government to stay the heck out of almost everything. The point I failed to make was that the liberal types are supported, at least in theory, that we won't take care of ourselves. But I don't think for one moment that the Gov. should do one thing on our behalf where diet is concerned. It was a lame attempt on my part to cause people to look inside and find their best selves. Cash
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