Obesity Challenge
by Connie Pierce
- Currently obesity in the US costs $10,273,973 per hour.
- By 2030 obesity is predicted to cost $15,753,425 per hour.*
- Globally, obesity related illnesses count for as many deaths in young and middle aged adults as HIV/AIDS.**
- Diet related diseases are two of the top 5 causes of premature death globally**
We’ve talked about this on my website many times. It is serious and should be a top priority for every family.
Food is a necessity of human existence. It needs to be seen as a discipline and not an emotion. Too many obese people use food for comfort, for loneliness, for security, for avoidance, for happiness, etc.
As someone who battled obesity for over 50 years, I understand the issues. I only wish someone would have come forward when I was a child to stop the insane habits I developed. It was expected that I would clean my plate (that had huge portions on it) and also partake of seconds. The reward for good grades and behavior was hot fudge sundaes at the local ice cream parlor. Food was the center and all-consuming activity in my household.
In an effort to lose weight, I tried every drastic thing that promised quick success – shots, pills, fasting, extreme diets, etc. I would lose but then gain it back and more once I returned to the old habits. No one talked about the need to change my thinking about food and put food in a category of need not want.
With childhood obesity climbing every hour, we need to establish plans that help children learn the value of everything they do including what they eat, the importance of activity and discipline.
What I have learned:
- Be honest. Don’t blame others for what you aren’t doing.
- Be committed. To achieve anything, you have to be determined.
- Make goals that are achievable.
- See food as fuel and not a drug.
- Love yourself right this moment. Love isn’t about weight! Scales measure weight not worth! (another article I wrote)
- Love your family enough that you want to provide the best for you and them.
- Lean on what best supports you. For me that is God. Take time every day to meditate, pray or do whatever helps you to be quiet and evaluate what is important.
All challenges and/or problems can be solved. But it takes each one of us to individually do the best we can. I believe we aren’t honest if we aren’t doing all we can here and now to live with integrity. If you find yourself stuffing your face with useless food to either say it doesn’t matter, food doesn’t have power or to be defiant, you aren’t being honest. Discipline, order, control are freeing not restricting.
I bristle when people quote the Bible, “Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat…” and say that food has no power so I can eat whatever I want. I look at that Bible verse as a wake-up call to realize that food is a discipline and shouldn’t absorb how I live. It isn’t an excuse to eat nothing but desserts or junk food. If we really are living with purpose and integrity, we would want to eat the best we can. We do put gas in our cars! We don’t put sand in them and expect them to function. Same with our bodies. We feed them, clean them, clothe them and move them. But when food becomes something other than fuel, don’t be surprised if the body doesn’t respond well.
Join me in doing what is right for us and for our dear children.
Are you staying above water?
by Connie Pierce
Sometimes we can feel like we are drowning with problems – especially when it comes to finances and health. The economic climate may be changing but for many this is still a dream and not reality. We feel victimized. And when it comes to our health once again we can feel like victims. So we tend to look for solutions that someone is suggesting will solve these problems with little to no effort on our part.
I still hesitate when someone I respect suggests that I should invest on a “sure deal” to double my investments in a short period of time. Likewise, I want to put on the brakes when I see ads for quick fixes when it comes to the obesity epidemic in this country.
Are we victims or victors? Doesn’t it go back to how we think? We do have a choice and I suggest we need to side with victory and dominion vs. struggling with the feeling that there isn’t a solution.
Finances. When I feel like I “need” something but don’t feel I should buy it, I ask the question, “What do I have in my house?” You would be surprised at the creative solutions my husband and I come up with that are better than what we might have purchased. I do this, not from a standpoint of deprivation, but because it is important to pause and make sure we are using what we have in the best possible way.
I can give you a fun example: My husband’s mother lives with us and loves to garden. When we purchased this home we discovered an outdoor cabinet (that was at the back of our property) that would be perfect so she could store her pots and potting soil. But we also needed to create a railing for her to hold unto once she was outside. We talked about various solutions and shopped at Home Depot and Lowes…but nothing seemed quite right. (We had elaborate ideas including making another walkway with railing to accommodate her walker.) Next thing I know my husband calls me out to see his creative solution. He found an old real estate sign post (in the shape of a “t”) that worked perfectly. It fit in next to the cabinet and looked like it belonged there and gave her the support she needed as she walked from the nearby sliding door to the cabinet. Cost – nothing! Satisfaction – Off the charts! We both loved the fact that we found an answer without having to go out and spend $.
Health. One of the aspects of obesity is a need to rethink how we are living. Instead of running out to take a new pill, try another diet plan or think about drastic surgery, perhaps what is really needed is taking stock of what you are currently doing. It’s about honesty. Health is really a mental issue. When I finally stopped and accessed my situation with honesty and humility, I realized I needed to make changes in how I was living. This included focusing on how to love myself more. I realized that loving me meant I would do the best I could for me! That included eating with wisdom, control and discipline and being more active. It also meant that I was going to stop “hating” me for the obesity. I was a good person and needed to make a list of my qualities and focus on those each and every day. A scale measures weight not worth so I rededicated myself to understanding my worth. (I wrote an article about this that is on my website).
We are victors! I believe we have all that we need to solve our problems. My approach is a spiritual one. I see life as a spiritual adventure in learning who I am and why I am here. I believe there is a higher dimension to life that supports us. For me this equates to a belief in God. Center yourself and be willing to explore new ideas that can strengthen you. Prayer and meditation are a wonderful way to accomplish this.
Love to hear your ideas.
Are we resisting?
by Connie Pierce
Sometimes we have good things all around us and yet there is something inside that is causing us to resist it. It’s like being in a dark room and all you have to do is switch on the light, but don’t.
I have discovered that what we want can simply require a flip of the “switch” in how we think. This is especially true when it comes to weight problems. There are steps that can help jump start your progress but they require a willingness to change how you are thinking.
Try this:
- Take a few moments to be quiet and just breathe. If a negative thought presents itself, exchange it for a positive one. Make an effort only to think good thoughts.
- Do this several times a day as a way to stop and evaluate how you are thinking.
- Decide that you are going to stop destructive thinking about yourself. List your qualities and focus on them. Repeat that you are good and worthy; that you are beautiful and successful.
None of this is complicated but it does demand that we “switch” what we have done in the past for a new approach to what is ahead. This doesn’t cost anything other than devoting time to do more for ourselves. This isn’t being selfish…actually it is being selfless to the degree we realize this will not only benefit ourselves but all those who are around us.
A baby sits stands, crawls, walks and then runs. We need to start at the beginning…first getting a better understanding of our value and worth; of seeing ourselves as blessed and not cursed with a problem that seems insurmountable.
If you want to resist – resist the temptation to do nothing! Resist staying with old habits. But don’t resist changing so you can experience new ideas and new experiences. It’s like giving yourself a beautiful gift that keeps on giving!
Our Agenda
by Connie Pierce
Today I discovered how frequently I refer to what happened yesterday and before long I start to feel burdened by yesterday’s unresolved issues. Listening to myself I had to laugh because I’ve written many times about the importance of staying with the “present” and letting go of the past or fear of the future!
It is so important to keep our agenda focused on today. It is a new day and affords us a fresh opportunity to start without filling it with yesterdays. This is especially important when it comes to weight issues. I used to feel that all the years of mistakes would keep me from doing anything about my weight. It felt like I had not only accumulated too much weight but I had also accumulated habits that couldn’t be changed. I felt hopeless.
Hope comes with each positive step we take and we need to do this every day regardless of the preceding day, week or year. Make a new agenda each day and make sure it is fresh. Habits change by making one change at a time and adding to it as you get secure with what you are adjusting.
If you are building a home you need to start with plans and then implementation happens in an orderly way. You start with the foundation, not the roof! So plans are important and then the logistics need to follow in a systematized way. The discipline that is required comes as you stick to the plan and not go off on wild tangents. With weight loss and management, we are required to stick to the plan and realize what we are doing isn’t for a week but forever. We are building a life of health and well-being and this requires we take one step at a time and NOT try to leap tall buildings! So don’t get distracted by gimmicks or promises of instant success. Work is required but it is important work that will yield lasting results.
Check your daily agenda and make sure it is doable and gives you time to prepare yourself for your day (quiet, meditative or prayer time); activity, a good meal plan and something that stretches you to do something new.
Your agenda is your “action plan” and therefore it should “move” you forward in a positive way.
Unstuff our Lives
By Connie Pierce
February 15, 2011
This is from www.seventhgeneration.com
I love it and it certainly can be applied to overstuffing when it comes to our eating habits. The sample principles need to be used. We are victims of a society that overeats. Super-size portions have become normal. We must downsize how and when we eat. Let’s unclutter our lives including how we eat. There is a real freedom that comes when we take control.
I hope you enjoy this article as much as I did:
“Life is filled with stuff. Yet we’ve all become aware that having a ton of stuff isn’t necessarily the best thing where certain essentials are concerned, like, say, the future of life on Earth. The world is a bit overstuffed as things turn out, and some think the era of “peak stuff” is here. But the question remains: how can we personally unstuff?
When I was growing up, getting stuff was always a positive. As middle class affluence spread, more was better, and people like my mother and father, who both came from modest rural backgrounds, reveled in the sudden easy ability to buy things that were once out of reach. It was okay for awhile. Who didn’t love it when Dad brought home a new hi-fi record player or Mom subscribed to the latest Time/Life book series? But then it all turned into a bit of rat race. Instead of owning stuff, stuff was kind of owning us, and it became a bit of a struggle just to keep up with it all.
Now after having vast amounts of stuff for half a century, there are signs we’ve all had enough. We’re realizing that acquiring and maintaining mountains of stuff comes at the expense of things that we actually care more about, like time, experiences, family, and community. The age of Peak Stuff may, in fact, be here.
In Britain, they’re consuming less water, construction materials, paper, meat, and textiles than they did 10 years ago. Car use is dropping in Germany, France, Australia, Sweden, and Japan. In the U.S., total truck mileage (think shipping) peaked a decade ago and municipal solid waste has been falling since 2005, which is a key point — it’s not the recession. These trends were clear well before Wall Street nuked the economy.
That said, it’s not easy to just step off the stuff treadmill. Old habits die hard and let’s face it…stuff is fun at least for a little while. Here are five strategies to get clear:
- Do not buy the spinning mirror disco ball. We did because it was cheap and looked fun. But it sat in the box for two years then was used to negligible effect for 10 minutes at a party before going back in the box for what looks like forever. A bigger waste of money and resources never existed. Learn from my mistake: Before you buy, ask yourself: is it genuinely worthwhile or just a spinning mirror disco ball?
- Redefine “essential.” It shouldn’t mean stuff we simply really want or just think we need. It’s about stuff we actually legitimately require, don’t already have, can’t borrow or rent, and are unable to find an existing substitute for. “Essential” also applies to size. Is the biggest, fanciest, flashiest model truly essential? Or will a cheaper, smaller, more modest version do just fine?
- Take a vow of poverty. I don’t mean live like a monk. I mean live like a person who’s set up a new bank account, made it off limits to everyday-ATM-card-access, and each payday fills it with every last penny that they don’t absolutely need for essentials (see above). That person has traded pocket change and the dumb stuff they usually spend it on for a fat savings account that’ll buy something worthwhile.
- Bury your credit cards in the backyard. At the very least leave them home and use cash for everything. You’ll be much more aware of your spending and buying, and when we can feel financial pain at the point of purchase, we tend to purchase less. One fast food study found that people using “fake” credit card money bought 47% more than people who had to pull real dollars out of their wallets.
- When all else fails, pre-owned beats the post-consumption blues. It won’t work for food or toothpaste, but almost everything else we need can be bought used for less. You won’t reduce your Total Stuff Load, but at least your acquisition won’t consume any new resources.
Those are my strategies. What are yours?”
“Inner peace creates outer peace”
by Connie Pierce
I love getting ideas and have to thank FB for this one posted by a friend. It speaks to what I believe.
If we want any changes to our life be it our bodies, our homes, our jobs, our families, etc., we must start with our thinking. To have a good expression of all that we hold dear, we have to start with our thinking.
Self-worth and self-value are achieved through self-evaluation. And the evaluation isn’t about tearing yourself down to build yourself up. I think it is starting from the standpoint of love and appreciation for who you are right NOW. We have a tendency to start from the lowest instead of the highest. And we can find ourselves digging and digging looking for what is wrong instead of building on what is right.
I have learned that this work is continuous. We don’t do it once and think we are through. It really requires a daily even hourly commitment to stay on the right track with who we are. We need to put on our blinders and not look at what others are doing to judge ourselves. This is individual and regardless of who is around you, you are unique and need to be valued accordingly.
I learned this lesson once again last weekend. I was with some relatives I haven’t been around in recent years. It was humbling because of the success and personal achievements I witnessed. I left feeling like my life was a failure in many ways. Now intellectually I know this is wrong. But I couldn’t get my peace about this until I addressed my thinking. My world is my consciousness of it (this is how I believe); yet I certainly wasn’t living that last weekend. I felt horrible for thinking this way and then felt horrible for mistakes I had made. I was with my family to honor my aunt who had just passed. It really was a special time but when I left to return home the clouds of all this negative thinking tried to take over.
We went through rain and fog to get there and then hit severe wind storms coming home. It felt like the weather was a reflection of my thinking – a complete mess! So how did I pull myself up and out? First of all I had to honestly look at the situation from a factual basis and not emotionally. I realized that my emotions were completely unreliable. I had so wanted to say goodbye to my aunt but that didn’t come to pass and my sadness over her passing was coloring everything.
When things are upsetting to me I turn inward and start looking at myself in a negative way. At least I am recognizing it and moving more quickly to change my thinking. You see, we really are responsible for our thoughts. Can anyone else change my behavior? I don’t think so. So when I start thinking of myself as a victim (of me or others) that sends a shock wave through me jolting me back where I need to be mentally.
First of all I believe we all have a Creator and that Creator didn’t create me less than or more than…I believe we are all created equal but unique. It always goes back to treasuring our uniqueness.
So once again I sat down and started listing all my qualities and things I have achieved over the years. It helped me to acknowledge my gratitude to God first of all and then for my family, especially my aunt, and me. I thought about her example and what she would be saying to me if she knew what I was thinking and that helped. I recalled an article I wrote about one of her sayings, “I have one body and I want to own it” and did some mental editing to “I have one life and I choose to own it.” Stop looking at others and own what is yours. In other words, I needed to own – acknowledge and appreciate – my life and what I am doing that is good. Inner peace reigned again! And outwardly I found I was able to handle some other issues with more grace and assurance.
We are all valuable and our inner peace will help us achieve more outer peace. Try it! Let me know how you are doing.
We are all works in progress.
“Disease to Please”
by Connie Pierce
Oprah was on the Dr. Oz show and she talked about her life lessons and one was summed up as “disease to please!” I don’t know about you but that jumped out and smacked me square in the face.
I spent most of my life living under this spell. And it truly is a way of thinking that can paralyze you and keep you from doing what is truly right for you and for those around you.
I lived to please because I felt so inadequate and such a failure because I couldn’t seem to figure out how to lose weight and keep it off. There was a part of me that thought if I could please beyond expectations that would compensate for my failings. And you can end up doing and doing for others at the expense of yourself and what is best for you as I did.
It is a disease of always being dis-eased with yourself. Stop and consider what is driving you. You can change and I strongly recommend doing so. Make a list of what you are doing to get others’ approval and evaluate how you can change this behavior. Example from my experience: when it came to family activities, I spent the entire time working in the kitchen so everyone else could enjoy the activities. Now, my family was upset with me for not joining in and then when the day ended I was exhausted from single-handedly doing it all and resenting it! How ridiculous when I created the problem! It wasn’t fair to me or to the family. If everyone had pitched in as they wanted, we all would have had fun! I kept thinking that if I stayed in the background working, no one would focus on my weight and I would be seen in a good light. Just the opposite occurred.
Be honest! Really think about what you are doing and why. And be willing to change when you know in your heart that your motives may not be as altruistic as you think.
