It’s hard. Living a healthy lifestyle, that is. Healthy food is expensive. Finding time to exercise is difficult. Summoning the motivation to do better is hard. Something that helps me is to stop and think. Before I reach for that donut, before I hit the snooze instead of working out, I always try to stop and think this mantra: is what I am about to do right now worth the problems it will bring in the future. Never sacrafice what you want most for what you want right now. It may sound far-fretched, but it’s true. Plus, most of the time it works!
If we really just stop and think about what we’re doing to our bodies, there’s reason enough to want to make a change. Obesity increases the risk of developing a plethora of diseases. Heart disease, diabetes type II, and according to a recent Chicago Sun Times’ article disability during old age. Is that twinkie really worth the couple of years in your life you could lose as a result of it? Is choosing to watch a movie instead of exercise worth getting to the point where you can’t even play outside with your kids or grandkids? Really stop and think through the possibilities that may lie ahead as a result of unhealthy lifestyle choices. Is it really worth it??
Not convinced? Here are more health risks that are increased as a result of being obese.
It always perplexes me when I see older people who are obese. I mean, to go an entire life without something debilitating, and then to have this on top of other medical conditions that may be ailing them. I can’t wait to be the old ladies who are wearing the bright colored jumpsuits walking around the neighborhood in the morning.
Another factor to consider is the lifestyle of American’s that goes into this. The “old people” factor. Instead of the filial piety found in most Asian cultures, we American’s don’t want to accept the fact that with the continuance of time, there is also a progression of our bodies that we don’t want to see (aka. plastic surgery). Then, we shove our elderly into nursing homes, separating them from a world that they helped create.
It is true that eating healthy is so expensive, especially for college students. I also find that I don’t have time to come home and make a great healthy meal. I think we always need to stop and think what the cost is of what we are doing to our body and if it’s worth it.