It is no wonder to me why people fail so miserably at bettering themselves. The cynicism slapping us around like a rag doll is relentless. I just speak for myself, but can't image it is much different for anyone else. People just can't wrap their tiny little brains around the success of others and supporting that success.
I have recently made lifestyle changes to be more healthy, which have resulted in some fairly significant weight loss. Yet at every turn when I am asked what I have done and I tell them; I am met with blinding wall of darkness that encompasses the room. It is overwhelming to say the least. Because I didn't immediately answer "I found this miracle drug and the fat melted away!!" they can't be bothered to hear what I am saying or find value in it.
Today I experienced the whole thing all over again. The conversation was revolving around not eating too much junk and portion sizing. Person #1 stated they know someone who stops eating when they are full even if the food isn't gone; like myself. I got excited about hearing someone else understanding what I have be doing to be healthier. So I joined in the conversation with a joyous tone. Talked about portions being enormous and stopping eating when full was the way to go, suddenly the wheels fell off! "I could never do that" was said by another person; followed by, "But I need to lose weight" or "so and so is a bad influence on me". Yet as the words leaked from her lips she was eating her 4th helping of cake! The "bad influence" friend wasn't there so what was the excuse this time? I was left in this cloud of despair and doubt. It was as if the notion of being healthy was unattainable. After agreeing to the concept that society has created an environment where overeating (portion sizes) has become expected they turned around and slid back into the abyss. I couldn't figure out what to feel or do. I am confident to say that I have overcome using other people as my crutch for overeating. I no longer eat emotionally and I try to see food as fuel, which goes a very long way to making better choices overall.
But I left this altercation wondering if I was able to inspire anyone? Doesn't all the research I have done and all the learning I have experienced account for something? Who would listen to me, better yet who would hear me? I have something to say and want to help others and teach others to know it is possible. It is possible WITHOUT gimmicks or fad diets. Push come to shove it boils down to standing up to society and saying STOP TELLING ME HOW MUCH TO EAT AND WHEN!! And more importantly, is to say it with conviction and be willing to accept the confused looks, the attempt to make you feel guilty for being healthy and the negative comments all spawned out of ignorance for doing something that will help you live a better life forever. It is probably the hardest part about the whole process. When everyone around us is a victim of societies laws that govern food consumption we will face the toughest challenges. Everyone wants their eating behaviors to be okay and by pressuring us to join in the gluttony it makes everything okay.
Even though I have found a safe place in my own confidence with my choices, I too, feel helpless at times when all I want is to find a way to help others see what I am seeing. I am not a guru or all knowing, but the proof of what I am talking about is evident in the changes my body has gone through. Hopefully this blog is reaching someone who needs to hear what I have to say.
Struggling through a task will only make the end results that much sweeter. Fight the noble fight and always know your conviction to something real can carry you through if you lean hard on the conviction. It will push people away at first but those that truly care will come around. And those that don't; aren't worth keeping around. Sounds harsh but the truth is we are capable of ANYTHING our greatest supporter thinks we can achieve. Surround yourself with people who build you up and spend very little time with those that tear you down (intentionally or unintentionally).
My Two Cents
Jamie
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Thursday, June 19, 2008
When Giving Equals Taking Away
It’s ironic. We, as this generation of parents, want to provide so much for our children, but is our desire to “give our kids a better life than we had” putting their potential for greatness in jeopardy? Time and time again we see some of the most powerful, influential and successful people in the World having come from very meager or impoverished backgrounds. Take Oprah Winfrey, she battled through some extremely difficult years in her young life; from abandonment to sexual abuse, until finally being reunited with her father who instilled a powerful work ethic in her and provided her the support to do great things. Another example would be Jim Carrey, albeit not a powerful media mogul like Oprah has become, Jim Carrey still has found success after living a portion of his life living with his family in their car. The point is this; history is supposed to teach us something. If you look back on the early years of some of favorite stars, famous people or influential leaders we will often find poverty and hardship. We find they have faced adversity square in the eye and found a way to battle through to emerge a winner. What do we offer our children? Everything and anything they ask for, with a side helping of protective bubble to round out the offer!
Does the phrase “I want to give my child a better life than I had” ring any bells? It should. You hear it repeatedly from parents all over North America. But by giving them a “better life” are we robbing them of their future potential? Shouldn't we be teaching the valuable lessons adversity taught us? I think the problem lies in the subjective phrase a better life; how can we define a better life. The only way we can actually provide a better life is to use a time machine and bring our kids back to the point in time we were of childhood age and raise them there, carving out a better path. Our children live in a different time then we did and cannot offer a better life based on what we deem as a terrible childhood. Think about what you are saying when you proclaim your goal to be, giving your children a better life…you are openly saying your childhood was terrible. Was it truly that bad that you need to provide so much better? I wonder how children are to realize how difficult life can be at times when they never face an adversity or have to own up to responsibility within their lives. As parents we do everything for them. The biggest issue is trying to eliminate their risk and potential for danger at every turn. We try to ensure they don’t get hurt, whether it is physically or emotionally. Is this really giving them a better life than we had? I don’t think so; I think the tough times we faced as kids are what shaped us into what we are today. Our freedom to make mistakes and learn from them helped us understand how to succeed. Also our ability to manage some risk on our own was huge in developing our ability to discern normal risk vs. dangerous risk. I think we are creating a generation of soon to be adults who will not have a clue how to live in the real World. A World where mommy isn’t there to hug you a nanosecond after you bump your knee. A World that isn’t going to give you everything you want simply because you “need” it and a World that will be unforgiving and harsh when they make mistakes. If they are taught how to accept mistakes as a necessity of the learning process and realize that the standard bumps and bruises in life do not require extended periods of time to recover (coddling), then our children will be better equipped to take on any challenge they see fit tackle. I think the mention of Oprah’s father providing support was a key point. Support should be based on the needs of the person facing the challenge NOT the person providing the support. Unconditional support is what you want to aim for. I have said it before; we are all capable of achieving anything our greatest support believes we can.
Basically some of greatest leaders and influential people we look up to did not have everything handed to them, nor were they afforded the opportunity to fly through life without accountability and in fact some battled through some pretty heinous conditions. The Oprahs of the World were bred out of a necessity to do honest, hard work to achieve greatness. They were forced to find their own inner strength (which I believe we are all born with) to persevere through obstacles which set them up for making the leap from a difficult life to a success to an icon. There was no magic formula, simply school of hard knocks learning with a healthy addition of a supportive role model. The supportive role model is the key factor in most cases. Naturally I am not suggesting children need to be beat or emotionally destroyed to be great individuals one day, however, I am suggesting that children need to understand life can be a rough ride at times and MUST be given the chance to discover their own inner strength as children to allow them to parlay that into a functional understanding of their survival skills long before they ever really need them. I am also suggesting we step out of the role of SUPER PARENT protector of children from all that may hurt them as soon as we can and assume the most critical role you will play in your life, #1 supporter. Children will feel safe no matter where life takes them or how far away they are if they ALWAYS know their #1 fan is going to be just that.
My Two Cents
Jamie
Monday, June 16, 2008
Victory Found In A Sea of Temptation
The annual roaming fair kicked off here in Winnipeg this past Friday. Along with the great rides, the fair also came with the intoxicating smells, the dazzling sights, the familiar sounds, the crazy carnies and of course the food, oh the food. My recent efforts to live a healthier lifestyle were going to be put to a very major test. In years past I have not be good at resisting the allure of the carnival food and it's flashy ads and overwhelming scents. Once to the extreme of creating a serious and painful medical condition at the young age of 20. So this year I had my work cut out for me...or did I?
For the past 23 years I have worked/volunteered at the fair raising money for charity with the Knights of Columbus. The fair usually marks and unofficial start to summer fun in Winnipeg. I arrived opening night, Friday, to many familiar sights and sounds and I did my usual tour of the grounds before my shift started and I was surrounded by the regular carnival excitement. I began to look at the food I have come to love way too much (do we see the problem with that sentence, "love" food, not a good idea). But I had a much different process going on my head this year. I was taken by surprise. I was wondering what type of oil they used, were there trans fats, how much salt, and do they have as many calories as I think they do?
I was finding I wasn't overwhelmed by the tasty treats, I wasn't rationalizing why I need to try one of everything and I wasn't planning my week based on when I would eat what! I found myself a little uneasy with all the poor choices people have. I have worked hard to make lifestyle changes which included a major over haul of how I think about food. It appears to have actually made an impact on my approach to eating at the carnival or should I say NOT eating at the carnival. At a place where the temptation is high and many emotions are tied to the big exhibition. I was feeling a break through coming on!
Then I came across a sight to behold, I didn't think the wide variety of terrible food choices could get any worse. With very few choices to maintain a grip on healthy eating I stumble across this abomination. Deep fried Oreos!! I kid you not; they take an Oreo cookie dunk it in batter and then deep fry the little critter! Are you kidding me? The all mighty dollar strikes again. Screw the health of North America let's deep fry some cookies! UGH! The employees in their fake straw hats proudly displaying the Oreo logo. Since the logo is so widely known it draws your attention. Oh the humanity!
Further on down the way we find Pizza on a stick. Yup, some marketing guru thought they should take a calzone and jam a stick up it's (BLEEP) and serve it. Naturally this guru was right, people will eat anything if you stab it with a stick and/or deep fry it! Take the carnival staple; the Corn Dog. A heart stopping hot dog with a stick in it, battered and deep fried. Basically, with pizza on a stick you get yourself a whole pizza to eat and conveniently it can be carried around on a stick like a Popsicle. Wanna lick? Doesn't anyone understand that they are eating enough food for three people? Just wait, what was that...I think I heard some arteries crying out in pain. Society is making us fat is an understatement with the out of control serving sizes people are given to cram into their over stretched stomachs.
Last night (night 3 of the fair) I was on a break and out for a walk around the grounds, when I began feeling I was hungry. I tried to decide what I wanted to eat and discovered one good thing has come from my unwillingness to eat garbage for the sake of eating garbage and that is the extra walking I am getting in during the evening. As I was saying, I was looking for something to eat. I just could not find my way through the signs proclaiming the awesome goodness of "FRIED DOUGH" and "MONSTER DOGS". I decided popcorn was the only viable option; not great but manageable. As I came to my decision I found myself being amazed at the fact they advertise a sweet treat as fried dough, with no thoughts of calling it something fancy to entice more buyers. Nope! Straight up, here it is, fried dough people, COME AND GET IT!
Another amazing thing occurred to me...I have turned a corner. I was not consumed by the atmosphere of the Exhibition; my brain spoke to me with logic. The education of how the body manages food has empowered me to live within a sea of temptation and not give in to the emotion of the moment. My choices about food were being made with clarity and devoid of emotion unlike so many times in the past. I know what I have done in the past few month is something special, I believe it can work for anyone. However, I realize just because it worked for me it may not work exactly the same way for another, BUT I would like to think that my successes would inspire others to believe they too can do it.
Now I have worked on a list of things to change for the rest of the week during the fair. Bring my own food, walk the whole circuit twice each night I work and be proud of what I have accomplished thus far, knowing full well that more work is needed. We all need to continue growing, we have to be constantly looking for ways to improve on who we are. Sometimes baby steps are all we can manage, but baby steps will get you closer to your goals A LOT faster than waiting until all the planets are aligned to take action. Baby steps are forward motion whereas no steps are stagnation.
Take some time to review your action plan and be sure to ACT on the plan you have. I believe everyone who wants something can achieve with some work and determination. Get to work!
My Two Cents
Jamie
For the past 23 years I have worked/volunteered at the fair raising money for charity with the Knights of Columbus. The fair usually marks and unofficial start to summer fun in Winnipeg. I arrived opening night, Friday, to many familiar sights and sounds and I did my usual tour of the grounds before my shift started and I was surrounded by the regular carnival excitement. I began to look at the food I have come to love way too much (do we see the problem with that sentence, "love" food, not a good idea). But I had a much different process going on my head this year. I was taken by surprise. I was wondering what type of oil they used, were there trans fats, how much salt, and do they have as many calories as I think they do?
I was finding I wasn't overwhelmed by the tasty treats, I wasn't rationalizing why I need to try one of everything and I wasn't planning my week based on when I would eat what! I found myself a little uneasy with all the poor choices people have. I have worked hard to make lifestyle changes which included a major over haul of how I think about food. It appears to have actually made an impact on my approach to eating at the carnival or should I say NOT eating at the carnival. At a place where the temptation is high and many emotions are tied to the big exhibition. I was feeling a break through coming on!
Then I came across a sight to behold, I didn't think the wide variety of terrible food choices could get any worse. With very few choices to maintain a grip on healthy eating I stumble across this abomination. Deep fried Oreos!! I kid you not; they take an Oreo cookie dunk it in batter and then deep fry the little critter! Are you kidding me? The all mighty dollar strikes again. Screw the health of North America let's deep fry some cookies! UGH! The employees in their fake straw hats proudly displaying the Oreo logo. Since the logo is so widely known it draws your attention. Oh the humanity!
Further on down the way we find Pizza on a stick. Yup, some marketing guru thought they should take a calzone and jam a stick up it's (BLEEP) and serve it. Naturally this guru was right, people will eat anything if you stab it with a stick and/or deep fry it! Take the carnival staple; the Corn Dog. A heart stopping hot dog with a stick in it, battered and deep fried. Basically, with pizza on a stick you get yourself a whole pizza to eat and conveniently it can be carried around on a stick like a Popsicle. Wanna lick? Doesn't anyone understand that they are eating enough food for three people? Just wait, what was that...I think I heard some arteries crying out in pain. Society is making us fat is an understatement with the out of control serving sizes people are given to cram into their over stretched stomachs.
Last night (night 3 of the fair) I was on a break and out for a walk around the grounds, when I began feeling I was hungry. I tried to decide what I wanted to eat and discovered one good thing has come from my unwillingness to eat garbage for the sake of eating garbage and that is the extra walking I am getting in during the evening. As I was saying, I was looking for something to eat. I just could not find my way through the signs proclaiming the awesome goodness of "FRIED DOUGH" and "MONSTER DOGS". I decided popcorn was the only viable option; not great but manageable. As I came to my decision I found myself being amazed at the fact they advertise a sweet treat as fried dough, with no thoughts of calling it something fancy to entice more buyers. Nope! Straight up, here it is, fried dough people, COME AND GET IT!
Another amazing thing occurred to me...I have turned a corner. I was not consumed by the atmosphere of the Exhibition; my brain spoke to me with logic. The education of how the body manages food has empowered me to live within a sea of temptation and not give in to the emotion of the moment. My choices about food were being made with clarity and devoid of emotion unlike so many times in the past. I know what I have done in the past few month is something special, I believe it can work for anyone. However, I realize just because it worked for me it may not work exactly the same way for another, BUT I would like to think that my successes would inspire others to believe they too can do it.
Now I have worked on a list of things to change for the rest of the week during the fair. Bring my own food, walk the whole circuit twice each night I work and be proud of what I have accomplished thus far, knowing full well that more work is needed. We all need to continue growing, we have to be constantly looking for ways to improve on who we are. Sometimes baby steps are all we can manage, but baby steps will get you closer to your goals A LOT faster than waiting until all the planets are aligned to take action. Baby steps are forward motion whereas no steps are stagnation.
Take some time to review your action plan and be sure to ACT on the plan you have. I believe everyone who wants something can achieve with some work and determination. Get to work!
My Two Cents
Jamie
Friday, June 13, 2008
Trying To Make a Difference
Sometimes I wonder what it takes to make a difference? I see potential in people they don't see in themselves and I want to help them see it too. I am passionate about helping people. I don't mean helping them move or fix a leaky faucet; I am talking about core level help. Helping people to look within for strength rather than to everyone else or something material. Strength comes from us and we have to believe it does. Within each and every one of us is a great person who has all the tools to make a difference in the World. Problem being, most of us have had those tools locked in storage and forget how to use them. We are capable of anything our greatest supporter believes we can accomplish. Surround yourself with great supporters and you will accomplish more than you can currently imagine. I can clearly envision myself speaking to hundreds of people offering a different take on what was all call life. I understand that not everyone will understand my way of thinking, but if just one person 'hears' me and changes their life for the better I will be accomplishing a goal. This different ideal I would venture to say is a much more old school view; one that returns us to pre-societal pressure. A time when believing in our own potential for greatness wasn't a scoffed at. A time when exercising our right to make choices for ourselves wasn't selfish. A challenge I am facing is the disbelief that it can be as simple as it sounds. The reality is it isn't simple at all. It is hard work that takes dedication to your beliefs and the willingness to ignore what others think about you. It isn't simple because we are must live in the World and society dictates how we think. The World of big money and big industry has programmed us over many years to think a certain way. If you don't agree stop reading, you are already lost to the juggernaut that is World marketing.
One other challenge is the truth hurts. So many people are not willing to listen past the first pang of hurt in the words they hear or read. This effectively eliminates their ability to grow. I am becoming less and less concerned about the hurt feelings I may produce with my words. Sounds mean, I know, but I believe I am speaking the truth. Which means the hurt feelings are not coming from my words, but they are coming from the receiving party's inability to accept the truth. If I’m able to offend someone so easily, to me that means they already recognize some truth in what I’ve written or said, but they aren’t ready to deal with it consciously yet. Certain realities are are hard to deal with, especially those close to the heart, I return you to the concept of not allowing emotion to dictate what is best for us. A lot of times the impact of such things is very hard to see or at the very least admit when you are submersed within them. It will often take an outside view to truly see what the root of the problems are.
I struggle with not wanting to upset anyone, however, that is quickly waning. I need to live my life within my own beliefs and not be afraid to express it. I lead a good life, I try and make sound choices that are for the good of my life moving forward. In the process I hope to be enhancing the lives of people around me too. I need to understand their will be casualties along the way, why? Because people are not going agree with everything I have to say, most of whom, will qualify in the "not ready to deal with it consciously yet" group, but so be it.
I have untied the gloves and they are close to coming off. If I am to realize my passion for helping as many people as possible I will need to allow the fire to burn a little hotter and wilder than I have thus far. It's time to make a move.
My Two Cents
Jamie
One other challenge is the truth hurts. So many people are not willing to listen past the first pang of hurt in the words they hear or read. This effectively eliminates their ability to grow. I am becoming less and less concerned about the hurt feelings I may produce with my words. Sounds mean, I know, but I believe I am speaking the truth. Which means the hurt feelings are not coming from my words, but they are coming from the receiving party's inability to accept the truth. If I’m able to offend someone so easily, to me that means they already recognize some truth in what I’ve written or said, but they aren’t ready to deal with it consciously yet. Certain realities are are hard to deal with, especially those close to the heart, I return you to the concept of not allowing emotion to dictate what is best for us. A lot of times the impact of such things is very hard to see or at the very least admit when you are submersed within them. It will often take an outside view to truly see what the root of the problems are.
I struggle with not wanting to upset anyone, however, that is quickly waning. I need to live my life within my own beliefs and not be afraid to express it. I lead a good life, I try and make sound choices that are for the good of my life moving forward. In the process I hope to be enhancing the lives of people around me too. I need to understand their will be casualties along the way, why? Because people are not going agree with everything I have to say, most of whom, will qualify in the "not ready to deal with it consciously yet" group, but so be it.
I have untied the gloves and they are close to coming off. If I am to realize my passion for helping as many people as possible I will need to allow the fire to burn a little hotter and wilder than I have thus far. It's time to make a move.
My Two Cents
Jamie
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Our Supersized Life
I read a great article in the Globe and Mail titled Supersized servings, supersized people that had me nodding my head in agreement.
So much is said about our National Food Guide and its guidance for healthy living, but the truth is the guide is a joke. It is backed by every "big" industry you can think of. The furthest thing it accomplishes is helping us eat healthier. In the article it talks about how following the food guide recommendations will only help you gain weight, due to the number of recommended servings. As a side note it also doesn't truly educate a reader about food.
But the real kicker in the struggle against obesity is serving size. Our World has become this sea of massive plates, up-sized fries, cups of soda large enough to drown in and our brains have come to understand that no matter how much we are served it is a regular serving. From the article I learned studies have shown
"Statistics Canada estimates we are consuming nearly 20 per cent more calories each day than we did 15 years ago because of bigger portions."
The same is true in the USA,
"According to research in the United States, portion sizes have grown dramatically over the past 20 years. Two decades ago, a coffee-shop muffin weighed in at 2.5 ounces (71 grams) and had 210 calories. Today, the average muffin weighs four ounces (113 grams) and delivers as much as 500 calories."
This is a significant increase that has created a very difficult pattern to break. It is socially acceptable for one person to eat an amount of food equal to 3+ servings! I think the biggest problem is our inability to only eat what we need as opposed to eating as much as we THINK we need.
The supersized foods of our World are loaded with fat, sugar and sodium. It isn't any wonder why we struggle with obesity on this continent. The article went through some very good tips to try and get a handle on serving control. I also think the ideas about listening to your stomach and to stop eating when you are signaled by the stomach, combined with only eating when you are hungry the portioning and serving sizes go down naturally. Our stomaches are only so big, sure they will expand to fit all the extra stuff you force in there, like those new Glad stretchy garbage bags, but it isn't good for you.
Scale down the servings and the portion sizes to reap the benefits of your hard work at being healthier. Listen to your body, it won't ask for more calories than you can burn. It is fined tuned machine that knows when it needs more fuel and when you can stop providing it. Remember your stomach CANNOT see the size of your plate or how much food you have left, all it knows is you have filled it to capacity...so put down the knife, the fork and BACK AWAY from the table!!
My Two Cents
Jamie
So much is said about our National Food Guide and its guidance for healthy living, but the truth is the guide is a joke. It is backed by every "big" industry you can think of. The furthest thing it accomplishes is helping us eat healthier. In the article it talks about how following the food guide recommendations will only help you gain weight, due to the number of recommended servings. As a side note it also doesn't truly educate a reader about food.
But the real kicker in the struggle against obesity is serving size. Our World has become this sea of massive plates, up-sized fries, cups of soda large enough to drown in and our brains have come to understand that no matter how much we are served it is a regular serving. From the article I learned studies have shown
"Statistics Canada estimates we are consuming nearly 20 per cent more calories each day than we did 15 years ago because of bigger portions."
The same is true in the USA,
"According to research in the United States, portion sizes have grown dramatically over the past 20 years. Two decades ago, a coffee-shop muffin weighed in at 2.5 ounces (71 grams) and had 210 calories. Today, the average muffin weighs four ounces (113 grams) and delivers as much as 500 calories."
This is a significant increase that has created a very difficult pattern to break. It is socially acceptable for one person to eat an amount of food equal to 3+ servings! I think the biggest problem is our inability to only eat what we need as opposed to eating as much as we THINK we need.
The supersized foods of our World are loaded with fat, sugar and sodium. It isn't any wonder why we struggle with obesity on this continent. The article went through some very good tips to try and get a handle on serving control. I also think the ideas about listening to your stomach and to stop eating when you are signaled by the stomach, combined with only eating when you are hungry the portioning and serving sizes go down naturally. Our stomaches are only so big, sure they will expand to fit all the extra stuff you force in there, like those new Glad stretchy garbage bags, but it isn't good for you.
Scale down the servings and the portion sizes to reap the benefits of your hard work at being healthier. Listen to your body, it won't ask for more calories than you can burn. It is fined tuned machine that knows when it needs more fuel and when you can stop providing it. Remember your stomach CANNOT see the size of your plate or how much food you have left, all it knows is you have filled it to capacity...so put down the knife, the fork and BACK AWAY from the table!!
My Two Cents
Jamie
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