This first appeared on my 225 Blog last week.I have started this post four or five times and gone back to the beginning. Some people will read it and say I need to get off my high horse. Others will say that it is just me promoting my business, and others still will say "Hey, aren't you taking this a little too seriously? It's just food." Each time I have started over, I am more adamant that I should talk louder. The food we are eating is killing our nation, crippling our healthcare system, and creating generations of unhappy children who will turn into unhappy adults.
If I come off like a hard line a-hole, well good. It seems to me that people aren't speaking up enough. There seems to be this notion that we should let our kids "be kids" and allow them to eat and drink what they want. Go to your summer pools and look around at kids drinking 20 ounce Cokes, Gatorades, all day, and view the rolls that they create. Explain to those kids that you are "letting them be kids".
There is a notion that my family eats nothing but granola, drinks water, and never eats fast food. This isn't the case. Our kids probably eat Canes and or McD's 3-4 times a year. We let them eat ice cream, donuts, and get Sonic Blasts from time to time. We also constantly have to explain to them that no we won't pick up Raising Cane's and bring it to school for their lunch and that there is no crime in not knowing what a Little Debbie Zebra Cake is.
I hate this seeming acceptance of fatness as being "just how it is." This is such bs. Skinny isn't what it's all about, but a healthy weight for your body is what people should strive for. I also know that people can eat correctly and not overcome genetic predispositions. I have more than a couple friends in triathlon that have lost a ton of weight and will never be skinny. They are however, healthy and fit.
I walked the aisles of a local grocery store the other day and a thought struck me. It was simple and like a shot in the neck. "What % of items in this store are good for me?" Non processed, no high fructose corn syrup, all natural, lacking preservatives. While I didn't go package to package and look at all the labels, it was clear that likely 70-80% of the store violated this. In fact, if you step back and look down an aisle, you see the dazzling array of colors beckoning you to buy. If I am being honest with myself, I should ask, "Why are they dressing this up so much if it's good for me?" Super sized bags and boxes of empty calories lining aisle after aisle.
Let's talk a little more. If I asked you what killed more people heroin or obesity, it should not shock you to know that in 2009 there were approximately 35000 deaths from drug overdoses of all kinds and 400,000 from obesity related illness.
So I'd ask you to forgive me, but I am not apologizing for speaking out nor will I apologize as I keep speaking out. Someone has to.
