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Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Monday, September 6, 2010
Weighty Issues of the “Fat Trap”
An epidemic of grave proportions is poised to swamp our nation’s health service and ruin the lives of future generations. It has struck our society with such severity and has in its wake left such a trail of destruction in the form of related and consequential diseases and its force shows little sign of weakening.
This epidemic is obesity and it does not discriminate; its affects can be observed across the board, transcending boundaries of age, gender and class as all but a fortunate few are susceptible to its clutches.
Most amazingly perhaps, on examination of the weighty issues of the aptly titled “Fat Trap” is the phenomenal increase in the incidence of childhood obesity with recent studies by the National Task Force of Obesity indicating that over 300, 000 children in Ireland are now classified as” obese”. This cross section of society at one time deemed the most physically active by comparison are now succumbing to the charms of the PS3, Nintendo DS and X Box over the fading lure of sport and the playground games of yesteryear. Is Wii Fit as close to physical health as tomorrows adults will get? It seems a widening in the range of all things “virtual” creates a widening in all things physical, by association, with the average child’s weight in 1950 being 50 lbs lighter by comparison with the 2008 average, (Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health).
However, equally disturbing home truths about our rapidly deteriorating relationship with body image and size are observed at the opposite end of the spectrum. Many eating disorders and eating difficulties, although less apparent than obesity are more prevalent, with girls as young as 6 being diagnosed with Anorexia. A survey carried out by St John of Gods (Lucena Report in 2007) revealed that 11% of young girls have significant eating concerns with a frightening 43.7% of participants admitting to being affected to the same extent by the media portrayal of weight and shape.
This figure is all the more startling when viewed in the harsh light of stark reality; the women we idolise in today’s press with “perfect” figures and “glowing” complexions have been artistically altered and airbrushed down to the minutest detail. We truly are chasing a digitally remastered pot of gold at the end of a computer generated rainbow.
The obsession with celebrity “royalty” however cannot be simply dismissed as an adolesant “flight of fancy”, for the reign of terror of the “Yummy Mummy” has embroiled more than an insecure minority in a post natal battle with bulge. This is a fat trap snaring women across the globe. The cult status of the revamped Silvercross and a realigned figure have served us nothing but feelings of inadequacy as women in real life, strive seemingly against the odds to regain their pre birth weight shortly after giving birth. At a time so vulnerable for so many women the added pressure of daily doses of women at pre pregnancy weight (which for most of these photographed women is more equivalent of pre pubescent weight) within days of delivery, is prompting feelings of inadequacy and low self confidence. A survey recently carried out by mumsnet.com highlighted this shocking truth, revealing that of 1300 mothers surveyed, less then a quarter were happy with their post pregnancy appearance and one out of two of those polled were declaring themselves “actively unhappy” (S. Hegarty, Irish Independent, 13.03.2008)
Fears are rarely allayed by screaming headings from so called “glossy” magazines’ across the shelves, aimed at women from twelve to one hundred and twelve, each promising to reveal Hollywood’s latest wonder plan. These re almost always, nothing but a short term fix for a long term problem lured in to the vicious cycle of yo-yo dieting on fad food plans, our minds crave the rapid weight loss we’re assured of as our bodies fight the devastating consequences: metabolic instability and lack of nutrients. The old “what you gain on the swings you lose on the roundabouts” philosophy rings ever more true as we observe this pattern leading to weight gain as the most common overall outcome. We conveniently blank out of our “overall picture of perfection” the lengths these celebrities have physically and nutritionally gone to in order to achieve honed and toned physique we observe as we crave their every inch, plastered on the front pages. How though, can we not be affected to some degree by this brain washing of perfection when the same unwitting celeb may well gain a pound or two and then have taunts about cellulite replace the “dream”.
The “Diet Industry” has become one of the biggest industries of our time and could be seen as largely responsible or at least contributory to our distorted perception of “Normal Weight Management” and the concept of “Yo-Yo Dieting”. It has gone on to promote everything from starvation diets where we are made believe that eating little or nothing and instead supplementing shakes, soups and “miracle” meal replacement bars will help solve our problem to promoting the belief that the well advertised number of fat removal methods and cosmetic procedures will give us the body we’ve always wanted and more critically give us the empty promise of the dream life thereafter.
What we need in order to break this seemingly unending cycle of destructive dieting is a change in our thinking more than our eating. We must first address the “Why” of the problem. We have control over three things in life, the thoughts we think, the things we visualise and the actions we take (our behavior). Examining what we are eating is one great step in the right direction but answering the question of “why am I doing this”, “what’s in this way of eating for me”, “is it making me really happy” and “how did I get to this point” is a great distance further on, on the same road.
Weigh Less is a refreshing break from the ridiculous unrealistic fad food plans. It serves to enable its participants to examine the reason that their relationship with food is not as they would wish and facilitates participants every leap to enhanced self esteem and improved body image. Weigh Less is based entirely on meals made up of healthy balanced portions and positive reinforcement of self through one to one consultations over the twelve week primary program. There is no pressure for huge weight loss over a few days unlike some of its competitors and infact our consultants do not recommend any more than 2 pounds weight loss per week.
The key on the Weigh Less program is breaking the big goal down in to small “bite size” steps making the big goal just a series smaller manageable goals!
For more information please log on to www.healthforce.ie/weighless or contact me through Linked In.
This epidemic is obesity and it does not discriminate; its affects can be observed across the board, transcending boundaries of age, gender and class as all but a fortunate few are susceptible to its clutches.
Most amazingly perhaps, on examination of the weighty issues of the aptly titled “Fat Trap” is the phenomenal increase in the incidence of childhood obesity with recent studies by the National Task Force of Obesity indicating that over 300, 000 children in Ireland are now classified as” obese”. This cross section of society at one time deemed the most physically active by comparison are now succumbing to the charms of the PS3, Nintendo DS and X Box over the fading lure of sport and the playground games of yesteryear. Is Wii Fit as close to physical health as tomorrows adults will get? It seems a widening in the range of all things “virtual” creates a widening in all things physical, by association, with the average child’s weight in 1950 being 50 lbs lighter by comparison with the 2008 average, (Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health).
However, equally disturbing home truths about our rapidly deteriorating relationship with body image and size are observed at the opposite end of the spectrum. Many eating disorders and eating difficulties, although less apparent than obesity are more prevalent, with girls as young as 6 being diagnosed with Anorexia. A survey carried out by St John of Gods (Lucena Report in 2007) revealed that 11% of young girls have significant eating concerns with a frightening 43.7% of participants admitting to being affected to the same extent by the media portrayal of weight and shape.
This figure is all the more startling when viewed in the harsh light of stark reality; the women we idolise in today’s press with “perfect” figures and “glowing” complexions have been artistically altered and airbrushed down to the minutest detail. We truly are chasing a digitally remastered pot of gold at the end of a computer generated rainbow.
The obsession with celebrity “royalty” however cannot be simply dismissed as an adolesant “flight of fancy”, for the reign of terror of the “Yummy Mummy” has embroiled more than an insecure minority in a post natal battle with bulge. This is a fat trap snaring women across the globe. The cult status of the revamped Silvercross and a realigned figure have served us nothing but feelings of inadequacy as women in real life, strive seemingly against the odds to regain their pre birth weight shortly after giving birth. At a time so vulnerable for so many women the added pressure of daily doses of women at pre pregnancy weight (which for most of these photographed women is more equivalent of pre pubescent weight) within days of delivery, is prompting feelings of inadequacy and low self confidence. A survey recently carried out by mumsnet.com highlighted this shocking truth, revealing that of 1300 mothers surveyed, less then a quarter were happy with their post pregnancy appearance and one out of two of those polled were declaring themselves “actively unhappy” (S. Hegarty, Irish Independent, 13.03.2008)
Fears are rarely allayed by screaming headings from so called “glossy” magazines’ across the shelves, aimed at women from twelve to one hundred and twelve, each promising to reveal Hollywood’s latest wonder plan. These re almost always, nothing but a short term fix for a long term problem lured in to the vicious cycle of yo-yo dieting on fad food plans, our minds crave the rapid weight loss we’re assured of as our bodies fight the devastating consequences: metabolic instability and lack of nutrients. The old “what you gain on the swings you lose on the roundabouts” philosophy rings ever more true as we observe this pattern leading to weight gain as the most common overall outcome. We conveniently blank out of our “overall picture of perfection” the lengths these celebrities have physically and nutritionally gone to in order to achieve honed and toned physique we observe as we crave their every inch, plastered on the front pages. How though, can we not be affected to some degree by this brain washing of perfection when the same unwitting celeb may well gain a pound or two and then have taunts about cellulite replace the “dream”.
The “Diet Industry” has become one of the biggest industries of our time and could be seen as largely responsible or at least contributory to our distorted perception of “Normal Weight Management” and the concept of “Yo-Yo Dieting”. It has gone on to promote everything from starvation diets where we are made believe that eating little or nothing and instead supplementing shakes, soups and “miracle” meal replacement bars will help solve our problem to promoting the belief that the well advertised number of fat removal methods and cosmetic procedures will give us the body we’ve always wanted and more critically give us the empty promise of the dream life thereafter.
What we need in order to break this seemingly unending cycle of destructive dieting is a change in our thinking more than our eating. We must first address the “Why” of the problem. We have control over three things in life, the thoughts we think, the things we visualise and the actions we take (our behavior). Examining what we are eating is one great step in the right direction but answering the question of “why am I doing this”, “what’s in this way of eating for me”, “is it making me really happy” and “how did I get to this point” is a great distance further on, on the same road.
Weigh Less is a refreshing break from the ridiculous unrealistic fad food plans. It serves to enable its participants to examine the reason that their relationship with food is not as they would wish and facilitates participants every leap to enhanced self esteem and improved body image. Weigh Less is based entirely on meals made up of healthy balanced portions and positive reinforcement of self through one to one consultations over the twelve week primary program. There is no pressure for huge weight loss over a few days unlike some of its competitors and infact our consultants do not recommend any more than 2 pounds weight loss per week.
The key on the Weigh Less program is breaking the big goal down in to small “bite size” steps making the big goal just a series smaller manageable goals!
For more information please log on to www.healthforce.ie/weighless or contact me through Linked In.
Brian Tracy on Weigh Less
Picture Details: Anne Marie Graham of Weigh Less discusses the new program with Brian Tracy
Weighless Announce Drogheda Meetings
Weighless Announce Drogheda Meetings - Our Drogheda meeting is held on Monday night in The Mindful Centre in Tullyallen. Appointments run from 4pm-9.00pm
4FM talks to Anne Marie Graham from Weigh Less
4FM’s Micheal Comyn talks to Anne Marie Graham from Weigh Less about the great new weight loss program that’s now in your area!
You can listen to the full interview here on Weighless.ie (5MB MP3 file - click to save or listen)
- http://healthforce.ie/weighlessblog/Weighless.mp3
You can listen to the full interview here on Weighless.ie (5MB MP3 file - click to save or listen)
- http://healthforce.ie/weighlessblog/Weighless.mp3
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