The Dude's guide to health recovery: Lesson #7 (Your body)

July 17, 10:07 PMHealth Care ExaminerDoctor Lissa

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Look at yourself.  Like what you see?

With this lesson, we'll conclue our journey into the Dude's possible perspectives on health recovery and the meaning of it all. This time, let's consider what we look like. No, not her, we know she looks good.  This is all about the rest of us.   I mean if you were going to a high school reunion, would you like to go right now?  Humm....

Lesson #5:  Your body.

Body Weight:

Well, this is not a news flash, but as a society,  we're too fat.  Just look around.  The gold standard states we should all have between 19 and 25 BMI.  But 66% of Americans have a BMI of greater than 25.. (Overweight is defined as a BMI greater than 25, obesity a BMI of 30).

Another way to look at it is in sheer numbers.  In 2005, 142 million Americans were overweight, (73 million males and 69 million females) and  31.4% of the general American population was obese. 

17% of children ages 6-19 were overweight and 14% of children 2-5 were overweight.  In fact Type 2 Diabetes is rising in the toddler set.  Yikes!

The numbers are interesting if you break them down into racial groups.

• If you are non-Hispanic white, it is estimated that 34.5% of the population is overweight and 24.7% is obese. 
• If you are Hispanic, it is estimated that 39.6% are overweight and 27.4% are obese. 
• If you are African-American, estimates indicate that  33.4% are overweight and 35.3% are obese. (National Office of Minority Health)

Why should we care?  How about because it's killing us?  Or our health costs are through the roof as a result?  Or we're destroying our planet?  Planes can barely lift us in the sky?  Really, this is serious stuff and immediate attention needs to be given to the problem.  So, let's get busy. 

But remember, we're following the Dude's plan:  we're going to do the least possible for the greatest result.

Where to start?  How about losing 5-7% of your current body weight?  Seriously.  That's all.

If you lose 5-7 %, it's enough to lower blood pressure and cholesterol as well as risk for heart disease.  Ok, you're still overweight, but a National Institutes of Health study found that weight loss in this range can reduce your risk of diabetes by 58%.  This is definitely doing the least for the greatest benefit.  Overweight and obesity are a national epidemic, and we can get serious but let's not panic.  Lose 5-7% of your body weight and the health benefits are enormous.

How do you do this? 

• The first step is to write a diary of everything you put in your mouth for a week.  I mean everything.  You don't have to show anyone, and I hope you don't.   Really no one wants to know this stuff.  But you need to know.  It's not very scientific, or sexy, but you can't lose weight if you don't have an honest appraisal of what you're putting in your mouth.

• You don't really need to count calories either.  Here's a good start that works every time. 

1.  Don't eat anything fried (sorry).

2.  Don't eat anything you can't recognize as a food item-in nature (Poppers not excepted).

3.  Cut back on sugar and fat (the things your fat body really wants).  Your body can't get rid of the fat you have if you keep putting more fat  and sugar into it.  This just makes sense.

      (Unsure what constitutes sugar?  Here are the really easy ones:  alcohol, ice cream, cupcakes, pizza dough, white bread, cake, candy bars, cokes.)

4.  Watch your salt intake.  That means canned vegetables are off limits and most processed meats.  Check labels and if it's made by some unnatural process, like Spagetti O's, you shouldn't eat it.  Probably not ever.

5.  Drink lots of water.  It will cleanse your body of all that garbage and the waste from your weight loss and make you feel lighter and more energetic. 

Again, in the beginning, you're just aiming for 5-7% of your total weight.  That isn't a lot to ask and the benefits far exceed the pain. 

Of course, don't forget weight training once a week and exercise 17 minutes a day (in segments of course).  You'll be amazed at how well you bowl, how cool you are and how often other people really notice you!  Also diet and exercise increase your chances of weight loss by 57%.  Pretty good for 17 minutes a day.

If you're not sure if you're fat or just pleasantly plump, check out the link to a BMI calculator, and find out for sure.

And good luck.  Just take baby steps at first!