<b>Not sure if you've noticed, </b>but there's a serious problem in this country. I'm not sitting here trying to lecture people about the "obesity" epidemic, or spit out some figures and statistics at anyone. I'm talking about what I see in the world around me each day. <b>What am I talking about?</b><br /><br /><div style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0yPuOqYgrfg/Ug46ZpYYQII/AAAAAAAABS0/wTqEworgdcI/s1600/maternal-obesity.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="178" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0yPuOqYgrfg/Ug46ZpYYQII/AAAAAAAABS0/wTqEworgdcI/s320/maternal-obesity.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td style="text-align: center;">img from medicaldaily.com</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><b>We, </b>as a nation,<b> are fat. </b>And for the most part, <b>it doesn't really seem to bother us.</b> Not as long as the line at McD's isn't too long. <br /><br /><a name='more'></a><br /><br /><div style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yY8cOcxnR7Q/UgywAeH6xJI/AAAAAAAABRk/Y19jxLJoVd8/s1600/fat-american.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="226" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yY8cOcxnR7Q/UgywAeH6xJI/AAAAAAAABRk/Y19jxLJoVd8/s320/fat-american.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />The problem is - we <b>want </b>what we <b>want</b> when we <b>want</b> it. When do we want it? <b>Now</b>. What do we want? What we <b>like.</b> Don't worry,&nbsp; we know what we like...<br /><br /><b>Everything we're told to like.</b><br /><br />Sugary, salty, fatty, sweet and designed to taste so good we just. want. <b>more</b>. What foods do you see advertised on TV? What delicious delicacies are you told are so good, so <i>irresistible</i>, you simply HAVE to go out and get it <b>right now</b>? Everything <u><b>bad for you</b></u>. Fast food burgers and fries, ding dings and hoo hoos, little snack cakes, drive-in hot dogs and potato puffs you <b>don't even have to get out of your car for </b>brought to you by people who can <b>roll to you</b> (because why should <b>they</b> be bothered to walk if you aren't?) and cheese poofs that look <b>bold and daring</b> because the cheetah eating them is a <b>jerk</b>. All these awful foods are <b>glorified</b> and <i>celebrated </i>as something we are privileged to be able to have.<b> But that's just ONE part of the problem...</b><br /><br /><b>IN MODERATION</b>, and I mean, like, as a <b>once-in-a-while treat</b>...I suppose it could be <i>possible</i> that your health and energy level wouldn't suffer too much from all this stuff. Problem is we don't seem to understand the <i>concept</i> of moderation. I find that many people just <b>aren't taught limits</b>. Our bodies will <b>tell us</b>&nbsp; when we're full, when we are satisfied...when we are <u>sufficiently nourished</u>.&nbsp; When I was little, I was told to <b>finish my plate</b> before I was allowed to have dessert. "Eat your food, <b>there's starving kids in Othercountria"</b>. That's great, stick it in a box and mail it to them...<b>little-kid-me is full!</b> And <u>that</u> is the instant we are taught to ignore anything resembling a signal from our body. We also don't eat slowly...we just <i>inhale</i> this stuff. People eat all this awful "food" so fast that it doesn't even register with their body that it's<i> </i><b>in there</b>, so we miss the signals our body is still <i>trying</i> to send us.<b>&nbsp;</b><br /><br /><b>And this is a behavior that we celebrate!</b><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1plSxZlgo-c/Ug4s0485LbI/AAAAAAAABSM/FGpmWKyPvi8/s1600/moderation.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="252" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1plSxZlgo-c/Ug4s0485LbI/AAAAAAAABSM/FGpmWKyPvi8/s320/moderation.jpg" width="320" /></a> <br />How many food-eating contests do you see? Food "challenges"? That famous American hot dog eating contest on July 4th? Where like 10 people line up on a nationally televised stage and try to shove 50+ hot dogs down their food-hole in <b>the fastest manner possible</b>? Seriously? It's disgusting to watch!&nbsp; I used to LOVE "Man vs. Food"...I thought it was <b>awesome. </b>Then over time I noticed the guy on the show seemed to be getting kind of fat. Like <b>visibly, noticeably </b>fat. Pretty soon after that there was a new show called "Man vs. Food Nation" where <i>he wasn't the one eating</i>, it was other people! Imagine that.<br /><br /><b>Speaking of portion size - </b>I was talking with a co-worker the  other day and I mentioned that I really liked the bbq chicken pizza at  such-and-such restaurant - it was REALLY good and very well-done. They  replied "Oh, I don't like such-and-such restaurant...their portions are  so small!". <b>Really?</b> Their portions are actually a pretty good size...it's just not the <b>overflowing platter of nom</b> that we're taught to expect. What a shame that's the expectation...the  food at such-and-such is actually really good and not the typical  get-fat-and-blow-up fare you get at most big chains.&nbsp; <br />And y'know what makes this awful food and lack of moderation even <i><b>worse</b></i>?&nbsp; <br /><br /><b>It's all so cheap you can feed the wife and kids too!</b><br /><br /><b>Ten dollars </b>feeds the WHOLE family from the dollar menu! Got a <i>powerful </i>appetite <b>all on your own</b>? Get a <b>big box</b> of heart-stopping <i>tasty</i> for just $5! Want to make sure you REALLY fill up? There are plenty of buffets to choose from, some as cheap as 4.99 for endless everything! <br /><br /><div style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-C-Qfm0aRU6E/Ug4peJeDPYI/AAAAAAAABSE/3c1mJX7PVic/s1600/obesity-ad.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="235" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-C-Qfm0aRU6E/Ug4peJeDPYI/AAAAAAAABSE/3c1mJX7PVic/s400/obesity-ad.png" width="400" /></a></div><div style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br /><b>Appetite Stimulus Plan?</b> Are you <b>kidding me?</b><br /><br />This has got to be one of the top reasons, as far as I'm concerned, that we as a nation are so fat - <b>it's so damn cheap!</b> I know as a recent college grad I have been broke since I was "on my own" in college. What happened when I got hungry? <b>I'd find something cheap!</b> But boy was I HUNGRY! Well, I <b>was</b> taught to make sure I got my fill...Easy beans! 4 bucks at Taco Bell and I was <b>stuffed</b> for the night. Then again, that 4 bucks' worth of food was probably more fat and calories than I should've taken in for the whole day.<br /><br /><b>Another problem with all this cheap food</b> we stuff ourselves with is...it's <b>cheap</b>! Not just price-wise, but quality-wise too. Next time you go grocery shopping look at the ground beef. Notice that the higher the fat content (and lower the quality) the less expensive it is. The health food section, "natural" section...whatever they call it... is often much more expensive than the rest of the store - prohibitively expensive for many people.&nbsp; The average American can do a pretty good job eating relatively healthy, but the average American is also pretty decent at stretching a buck - so the cheap stuff makes it into the cart.<br /><br />But if you're feeding the family with this...that means <b>the kids are eating it too</b>.<br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6iZjQlS3ewg/Ug46XoW4ESI/AAAAAAAABSw/OdLd9BZMXJc/s1600/obesity.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6iZjQlS3ewg/Ug46XoW4ESI/AAAAAAAABSw/OdLd9BZMXJc/s320/obesity.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td style="text-align: center;">img from the-menace-of-obesity.com</td></tr></tbody></table>This is one of my<b> biggest </b>problems with this WHOLE thing...we're teaching our <b>kids</b> that not only is eating to excess ok, but its the norm. Some of you may know, I work in a pretty big restaurant chain (over 100 locations)...and I'm in a tourist town, so LOTS of people come in. I can't tell you how many <b>round</b> children I see walk in the door. ROUND! I can't understand how, as a parent, some people can allow their child to eat so much that they become <b>so</b> fat they're <i>round.<b> </b></i>Kids can't get their hands on that amount of food on their own, it's being <b>provided</b> to them. I don't even know what else to say...it's just <b><i>irresponsible</i></b> to feed your kids that kind of food that often and that much that they blow up. And this isn't a nutrition thing...but most of these kids aren't encouraged to go out and play all that much...many of these kids are the same ones who sit at one of my tables with their eyes glued to and hands surgically attached to a GameBoy or smartphone playing games. <b>Not the best way to burn off the 3000 calories your kid ate today.</b><br /><br /><div style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-axzMVOgSmTM/Ug42slFHkYI/AAAAAAAABSc/W-8GzYll_ck/s1600/so+hungry.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-axzMVOgSmTM/Ug42slFHkYI/AAAAAAAABSc/W-8GzYll_ck/s320/so+hungry.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><b>No. You're not. </b>You're <b>bored. </b>Put down the burrito!<br /><br /><b>I guess where I'm going with all this is</b> - we need to SERIOUSLY re-examine how we as a nation behave when it comes to food. Fast food, snack food and deep-fat are so ingrained in our culture that it'd take a pretty big paradigm shift to get truly healthy. This whole problem, coupled with the <a href="http://sothisisfitness.com/2013/07/the-i-dont-feel-like-it-syndrome.html" target="_blank">"I don't feel like it syndrome</a>" is why we're in such a bad situation right now. However, if we take baby steps, <a href="http://www.sothisisfitness.com/2013/08/so-this-is-nutrition-basics.html" target="_blank">follow good nutrition guidelines like I've talked about before</a>, and embrace healthy-eating movements we can start going in the right direction. <b>&nbsp;</b><br /><br /><b>I implore you</b> - start at home, with yourself and your kids. <b>Be conscious</b> of the foods you're putting in your mouth and putting on a plate for your kids. <b>Make sure</b> not too much of your food is coming from a greasy bag or box handed to you through your car window. <b>Listen to your body</b> - it will tell you when you're done. We eat for nourishment and to enjoy the taste, <b>not because we're bored.</b>&nbsp; <b>Teach your kids</b> healthy habits and the right foods to eat. <b>They're learning from YOU - </b>so make sure you're careful about what you're showing them.<br /><br /><b>We, as a nation, don't have to be fat</b>. But <b>it starts</b> at <i>home</i>. With <b>you.</b><br /><div style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>