Over the course of our 28 Day Weight Loss Challenge our Daily Recap videos will be where I post the notes I have written for the talks I do in the FaceBook Group each night. Hopefully this will make what we are talking about easier to follow for everyone that wants to join us in the challenge. You can see each of the 28 Day Challenge recap posts here. Please subscribe to the YouTube channel to never miss an video.
Why is losing weight important? Obese people spend twice as much on health care as people with healthy weight. Obese people have more difficulties in getting married, or dating, or fertility. Obese people tend to be poorer and even in high paying jobs, earn less than their peers.
It’s worse for children. Obese children have a harder time making friends and are often targets of bullying. They show higher levels of self-harm, self-hatred, low self esteem, shame and loneliness. When kids were shown other kids with disabilities, learning impairments and obesity and asked who they would like to play with, the obese children always came in dead last.
Because of things like this, the obese usually embark on frustrating cycles of yo-yo dieting and exercise programs that show almost no improvement in their weight or overall health because it doesn’t work. It can’t work. Dieting and Exercise is not a long term solution for weight loss.
We’ve all seen celebrities that lose weight and gain the weight back after a few years. (Looking at you, Oprah!) We have all watched shows like The Biggest Loser where people nearly kill themselves to lose weight, but we are only just now seeing the ugly truth that the weight doesn’t stay off longterm.
If you can put yourself in an environment where your diet is strictly regulated, like a Biggest Loser reality TV show or a “fat camp”, or can afford round the clock personal trainers and personal chef, then you can lose weight by restricting your diet, However, for most of us in the real world, we don’t have access to those things and will just continue on a cycle of up and down weight loss and gain.
The problem isn’t the initial weight loss, it’s keeping the weight off for a meaningful amount of time. On average, any weight you lose will be gained back in 6 months when you use calorie restriction and vigorous exercise to lose it.
This weight gain epidemic is not limited to America. We are now seeing significant weight gains in cultures all over the world. What has happened to make this happen? A global increase in fast food, processed food and the addition of HFCS and fillers to everything we eat.
Another problem is lack of access to healthy foods. If you are affluent, chances are you live within a short driving distance to a supermarket with fresh produce, high quality meats and organic food choices. If you are living in the poorest areas of America, there is a high probability that you live in a “food desert” with very little access to high quality foods. But I guarantee you that there is a McDonald’s within walking distance.
Even if you have access to good food, you might not have the time or ability to prepare it. If you have to work late and have hungry kids at home, it’s often easier to pick up a pizza or hamburgers on the way home than to take the necessary time to cook something healthy for the family. Then the whole family gets a little fatter.
All notes taken from information found in Fat Chance by Dr Lustig, Good Calories, Bad Calories by Gary Taubes, The Angriest Trainer Podcast and Jimmy Moore’s Podcasts.
