Fat and Healthy?

Happy Saturday!

I read an interesting article on CNN.com the other day that raised the question, "Is the fat acceptance movement bad for our health?" The article wondered if this movement was undermining the health risks of obesity and allowing overweight people, most of whom are not healthy, to become complacent about their weight as many organizations and businesses champion a new definition of beauty that is not dictated by waist size.

I think this is a good question, and worth looking at from both sides. The health risks of obesity are known to all of us, I believe, and they include an increased risk of diabetes, heart disease, and some types of cancer (to name a few). Many, perhaps even most of us, who have been on Take Shape for Life/Medifast for even a short time have seen improvement in our lab work, including lowered cholesterol, improved blood glucose, better triglycerides, etc. Many of us have been able to get off of or lower the dosage of medications for blood pressure, cholesterol, diabetes; individuals have gotten off of the C-pap and bi-pap machines for sleep apnea, while others have been able to give us using a walker. For all of us who have reduced or gotten off of at least one medication because we went on this program, we can see a direct correlation between our weight and our health. That is one of the reasons people are so excited about Take Shape for Life/Medifast and why a growing number of physicians are referring their patients to the program.

That certainly doesn't mean that every overweight person is unhealthy, and most of us probably know someone who is overweight and proclaims that they are healthy and not on any medication. My husband met with a man yesterday who is well over 300 pounds (he doesn't know for sure how much he weighs because he is too heavy for his scale). This individual isn't on any medication and told my husband that he just got a clean bill of health from his doctor, and his only motivation for losing weight was to look better. Because he is in his early 30's, he acknowledged that his weight might eventually cause health issues, but he wasn't concerned about that at the time.

From the other side, being thin and being healthy aren't necessarily one in the same. There are people in a healthy weight range who have terrible eating habits - skipping meals, eating the wrong things, etc., but who are able to maintain their weight through exercise and/or the blessing of a killer metabolism.

I love this program because it works to help us not only get thin, but to also get healthy. It also teaches us the habits we need to STAY at a healthy weight, including incorporating regular exercise into our lives and continuing to eat 5-6 small meals a day (which may or may not include 2-3 Medifast meals).

Take Shape for Life/Medifast is a wellness program, not a diet, and that's what sets this program apart from every other programs out there. If we choose to follow the program, if we're willing to learn how to make permanent changes in our lives, this program will get us to a healthy weight and keep us there for the rest of our lives. It all comes down to the choices we make, and small sacrifices today will reap wonderful benefits tomorrow, and for the rest of our lives.

Those choices start with the choices we'll make today, so choose wisely :-)