This week the American Medical Association has declared obesity a disease. In an online article by the Voice of America, they state there has been a fifty percent increase in obesity cases between 1997-2012. According to the article , the World Health Organization states, 2.8 million people die from the disease.
What does this mean to the average American who is over weight? The hope is the insurance companies will allow benefits to treat this new disease, that has been around for some time now. However at this point in time, insurance companies not doctors set the standards and conditions for weight loss procedures and behavioral modifications. I for one am not happy with insurance companies deciding who may have surgery or help with a weight loss program. Hopefully, this will change in the near future. I am one of the one-third of Americans who must lose weight and have a body mass index reading of over 35.
I am at risk for cancer, type 2 diabetes, stroke and heart problems. Knowing this, my nephew and his wife are offering a program that will be tailored to my needs. It is called, Take Shape for Life (TSFL). I am going to include the video for this program. It seems to include features from Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig, and the South Beach diet to list a few. Most of the cost is in the food packages that are shipped to you monthly. What makes this program different is the help that is given to the participants.
I am currently on the Weight Watchers program and have been trying to lose weight with it for over ten years. I, however, need the personal support of ” in your face” supporters, like life coaches or sports coaches provide. I have never reached my ultimate goal with WW and end up giving up and gaining weight. I do not like the meetings or the lack of individualized attention. On the other hand, I do not like food that is not fresh and in its natural state.
Working for Manpower, Inc. at Google in their Hosting Services Program, I get to eat in the cafes on Google’s campus. This is suppose to be healthy food and for the most part is. However, I have been counting portions and points and find that it is really important to make food choices based on the caloric cost of the food eaten. When everything is on display and looks fantastic, it is really hard to eat the correct portion based on your individual caloric requirements. Making food choices that are healthy is only part of the total picture. You must make choices on what the calorie count of the foods to be ingested is. There is nothing at Google that lets the person know what they are ingesting as far as calories go.
Granted most of the employees at Google look pretty lean and mean to me; because they are young and active. I have yet to see anyone that looks as fluffy as I am. When I look at the younger people ( just about anyone is younger than me), I can’t help but feel out of place. So, that is motivating me to go back to a strict life style change. I will spend two to three months on the WW program and switch over to the stricter TSFL program.
I have already begun to count my points on the WW program and do not feel satisfied with the food amounts I am now eating! I want to indulge myself; but I can only do this with a set amount of points which convert to calorie counts. My goal is 1600 calories per day. I certainly am not at that limit at this time. I have increased my exercise routine and swim once or twice a week, ride my bike and ride at a local stable once a week. By doing this I can increase the amount of calories I can use, since it gets added to my daily caloric count.
The problem is, there is a lot of guess work in trying to calculate points on this program. Often there is no way of knowing how many calories are in certain foods. For example, if you eat at Denny’s and order the senior tilapia the calculation is 14 points; however, this includes the bread that comes with the meal. What happens when you do what I do and don’t eat the rolls that come with it, have a salad with less than a tsp of salad dressing and get fresh veggies instead of rice or potatoes? This whole counting calories thing leaves a lot to be desired. The classes supposedly solve this problem, NOT! The other problem with meetings is everyone is trying to learn while sitting on their back sides. I would prefer learning while we were exercising.
I would like to go through sugar withdrawal like the South Beach diet demands. I can’t help but wonder if that program, as hard as it is for two weeks, might not be the right answer. I have a hard time with carbs and need to use more protein in my diet than other people. Worse yet, I need more calcium since certain medications strip my system of calcium. With all this on my plate, I yearn for the time when I could eat whatever I wanted and never gain a pound. I spent most of my life weighing 126-132 pounds and am now carrying twice that. Talk about having been self indulgent and never learning portion control!
So whatever diet you choose and/or if you decide to have the surgery, I wish you well. I know what a struggle losing weight is and like drugs or alcohol, food is addictive. The dictionary states the word disease means a harmful development. Now we know what real life conditions being over weight brings upon us, let’s try to commit to living a long healthy productive life, at a more suitable weight. Most “baby boomers” are heeding these warnings and are working on reducing their weight. Now if we could just get employers to hire us!!
photo credit: <a href=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/vlastula/2864400414/”>Vlastula</a> via <a href=”http://photopin.com”>photopin</a> <a href=”http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/”>cc</a>
JOYSTECHTOOL 