Okay, so I'm trying to find that "sweet wind" again. Besides the "Activity #1" of meditation I mentioned yesterday in my vlog update, I'm planning this week to read the kinds of things that motivated me in 2010. The scary butt things. That's Activity #2 in the project. The fat-terror stuff. Things like Allan's rants about "Fat is cancer."
He was and is right. Fat is like cancer. It kills. We gotta get rid of it!!!
Fat is not this benign padding keeping us warm and making us feel cushy. It's been discovered that it acts like an endocrine organ. It releases cytokines that cause inflammation. And it's not just this awful belly/visceral fat (which I am of the body type that really likes to accumulate belly/torso fat, damn, stupid DNA of mine). Even that FAT PADS ON YOUR KNEES do this!!!!
Extrapolate this. If the fat pads on your knees add pro-inflammatory chemicals to your system, what do you think 50 extra pounds around your middle do? 100? 200? It's a time bomb.
Fat cancer.
Excess fat is NOT your buddy, not my body. It is destroying us in this country. Look around when you go out. WE ARE A FAT COUNTRY!
We're scarfing down junk, living sedentary, and wallowing in our own cytokines...and paying the medical price.
Worry about not having insurance when you're obese? Oh, yeah, bet you do. I did. I do.
Fat hates us. It's not something to happily accept and let sit there. It's something to FIGHT. (As well as we can, and I don't mean you need to be twiggy or Kate Moss, cause, genetically, we ain't all blueprinted that way.)
I need to scare myself again. So, I looked for a read like those that got me going to begin with.
Like this article.
It reminds me why I can't go back to eating crap, EVER EVER EVER (and no, I have not had a sweet roll or donut, not in a long time, but that doesn't mean I wouldn't LOVE to, mind you). Here, a cardiologist traces the way a crap food like a donut raises inflammation and leads to heart disease.
But he also explains why BEING fat leads to inflammation and heart disease and other deadly and dreadful conditions. I ain't obese anymore (barely). But I am fat. Overweight. And this is what that does to me, says this heart surgeon who has operated on thousands and seen what a bad diet and being fat does to the arterial walls:
To make matters worse, the excess weight you are carrying from eating these foods creates overloaded fat cells that pour out large quantities of pro-inflammatory chemicals that add to the injury caused by having high blood sugar. The process that began with a sweet roll turns into a vicious cycle over time that creates heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes and finally, Alzheimer's disease, as the inflammatory process continues unabated.
People, the reason I got my mojo going on losing weight was cause I didn't want to DIE OBESE. I didn't want to have failed to conquer obesity and be on my deathbed with the huge regret of DYING OBESE. And the main acute motivator--the one that was right there in my face and terrifying me-- was that I had Metabolic Syndrome/Pre-diabetes and was well on my way to becoming a full-blown diabetic with all the horrible complications that cascade from THAT condition.
So, my blood sugar has been blessedly normal. My blood pressure pills got tossed last June.
But if I regain and go back to bad habits, I get all that crap again...and MORE. And WORSE, cause the clock stops for no one.
So, that was the first thing I read, after waking up, before breakfast. It's time to scare the bejeezus out of myself again to get my butt in gear and act together.
This fricken wall is coming down. I'm my own obstacle. I gotta get out of my dang way.
I'm gonna do my 5 minute meditation. I'm gonna ponder my arterial wall damage as I look at my big belly, that belly pouring out cytokines into my bloodsteam and screwing me up inside.
Okay, off to eat, move, do some chores, then pick-up my organic goodies. And I really need me some berries right now. Got a craving. :D At least, it's not for a donut.
If you want to REMOTIVATE right along with me, you folks in the doldrums of dieting or in the regaining conundrum or apathetic or backsliding, then join me. Just do the same stuff--the 5 minute meditation blocks to clear the mind and exercise the self-control "muscle", the scary reading (blogs, articles, books, whereever). Put up your own idea and let me know. Maybe I'll do it, too. The point is to do the things that got you going mentally, got you IN YOUR GAME. The point is to find the fire again. If you want to post your remotivation tricks and if they work, do so. Let me know. I'd like to read your efforts.
And for those undermining themselves, here's a word: Akrasia.
Fight the fat.
Be well...
8 comments:
YOU GO GIRL!!!
OOoooOO! Great articles. I really like the heart surgery one.
Good for you! Looking forward to following along while you remotivate yourself!
Learning every day!
You are a strong force.
Love ya!
I've tried scaring myself too hoping I'd do more exercise. When I really get scared is when my knee starts hurting and I think it won't stop. Ugh. I'm going to remotivate by joining the Ready for Summer Challenge. Once I've committed to it, I'll feel very, very foolish if I don't follow through. :(
Good luck with your motivation.
I'm going to have to disagree on this one. Fear is a short-term motivator at best, a paralyzer at worst. I blogged about this awhile back and the human body is not meant to exist in a state of fear for a prolonged period of time (and losing weight takes time). It's a stressor biochemically and meant to be an emotion leading to short-term action to resolve a situation, not long-term behavioral changes.
Also, a lot of fat on a body is a health threat. A little fat on a body is a life saver. That's the way nature designed human bodies. The fat is meant as energy stores for lean times. It's a positive, not a negative biologically.
Like all things, fat is something which works in moderation but too much or too little is bad. Read some blogs of recovering anorexics and you'll get some idea of what happens when there is too little fat on the body (it's very painful to move, sit, stand, etc.). This is why people who are moderately overweight tend to live longer than people who are thin. Fat does not kill.
I think that the target should be living the most positive lifestyle you can manage with a balance between all aspects (nutrition, movement, and, yes, enjoyment), not to live in fear of consequences of having fat on your body.
I think fear is ultimately not a good route. You'll just put more stress on yourself and nobody needs that. As always, I wish you the best, not matter what path or attitude you take.
Thanks for the motivation. Like you, I am a planner, and when things don't go the way I "hoped" I have to look over my plan and find out where things went awry. But, having said that, I am impulsive and often jump in with both feet without having a plan, much less a Plan B and C. You are absolutely correct about the "later in life" dilemma with weight loss and metabolism. I wish there was a way to get through to some of these younger ladies about how important it is to lose the weight sooner rather than later. There is so much advantage, not in only the difficulty of losing later, but also the stress it puts on your overall health in the meantime.
And the link to the article from the cardiac surgeon - it certainly makes you take another look at preventing heart disease through diet. Wow!
Thank you, as usual, for a thought-provoking post. Prayers and hugs to you, of course, and I can use the same to get my health back first, then to get back to some meaningful exercise.
Have a great end of the week!
I don't have big mirror at home, since the old one broken by my kids. I don't have any idea how big I was until i calculate my BMI...so shock to see the result. I am obese! This post is empowering. Like pushing to fight for good. Thanks for inspiring me.
Fight the fat.
-Honeybee
http://healthybeautifulblog.blogspot.com
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