Fitness is not a luxury...it's a necessity

Equinox gyms sold T-shirts with this saying on it...and honestly, it's so true.

Being fit/healthy is not something that is luxurious...it's not something only the rich and famous get to become....it's something that is necessary for all of us.

Being fit is not easy either. It takes WORK to be healthy...to truly work our bodies so that they can endure stress, emotional demands, and the physical demands that arise in our day to day lives...the expected and the unexpected.

Let me tell you a story of a man named Matt Long. Matt long is and was a NYC firefighter. He ran marathons and completed Ironman triathalons (if you don't know what an ironman is look it up--it's an amazing accomplishment). He was unbelievable fit individual. Then about 5 years ago, as Matt Long was riding his bike to work, he got hit my a 40,000 pound bus that was making an illegal turn. Without giving everything away, Matt Long basically only survived the accident because of how fit and healthy he was....his heart and lungs were able to endure the trauma. He bled out so much blood that in a normal person, the heart would stop pumping, however Matt's did not stop. It was because he made fitness and health a necessity that he was able to save his own life (along with the amazing doctors but he deserves the credit for how strong his heart was). Matt survived 40 something surgeries and 1 year after his recovery, ran the NYC marathon and later completed another Ironman.

Matt Long is an amazing person for so many reasons and I will let you be the one to buy and read his book "The Long Run" so you can get to understand and appreciate this man even more than you already do. However, let his story be a wake up call. YOU need to be fit for other reasons than just being at the perfect weight. You need to understand and open up your eyes to the other REASONS why you need to be fit. If you work out just to lose weight, it's time to first off, figure out why a number is so important to you, and second off, losing weight typically means losing muscle, and the only reason why Matt lived was because of how STRONG his heart was (your heart is a muscle). Placing stress on your heart and lungs and skeletal muscles (arms, legs, etc) will train your heart to endure more stress. Your heart will have to pump less (do less work) in order to do the job it has to do (pump blood in and out of the heart).

You should be fit so that your day to day life is easier, so that you're healthy your whole life, and so that in the case that an unfortunate event happens (like Matt Long), your body will be better able to handle the trauma placed upon it. I am by no means saying that if you are fit you will survive whatever comes your way, but what I am saying is that if you are fit, you will have a better chance of surviving. Make your body strong, keep your heart and lungs fit, and keep your spirits positive.

Being fit is not just about weight loss or preventing weight gain. Shift your focus to the bigger picture: decreasing your risk of developing lifestyle diseases, increase your bodies ability to endure trauma, live your life feeling good, setting a good example for our family and friends, and last but not least, it may save your life one day.

Fitness is not a luxury, it's a necessity.

I met Matt Long this past weekend and he is truly an inspiration to anyone. He inspired me to make goals for myself and so I am going to run the NYC Marathon November 2011.

Here is Matt Long's foundation website: http://www.iwillfoundation.com

Buy Matt Long's book "The Long Run".

Get inspired. Get moving.

The end to CHILDHOOD obesity. YOU have something to do with this.

Okay so while I was taking a run with my dog Simon, I started to think about what I would want to write about today. And...within 30 seconds I had about 100 ideas. SO I am going to start with my first idea.

CHILDHOOD obesity.

The fact that these two words are even together makes me pissed. Yes children should have a little meat, but quite frankly, being 20 pounds overweight is not BABYFAT. It's "cute" only until the child starts to develop conditions such as metabolic diseases, type 2 diabetes, thyroid issues...not to mention the psychological effects it has on the child.

Here's the deal. We are so afraid to tell children NO because they might get mad at us or say that we are the worst person in the world. WE (meaning any one of us that has interaction with children) need to teach children HOW TO BE HEALTHY. PART of teaching to be healthy involves a little bit of discipline. If you tell a child they can have all of the sugar in the world, aren't we teaching them to eat that way? YES.

What would happen if we don't allow children to eat macaroni and cheese, hot dogs, pizza, chicken fingers, pop tarts, etc for meals? Are they going to hate you forever and develop this life long grudge? NO. I'm thankful my parents didn't allow me to eat whatever I wanted to eat because they actually taught me healthy eating. I was not allowed to have dessert until I ate dinner...or at least the majority of the veggies and meat. They wouldn't force me to eat everything...we need to teach children how to listen to their bodies...actually, they are much better at this than adults...so maybe kids should be teaching the adults...but let's not get too a head of ourselves.

ANYWAYS. I'm over Childhood Obesity. Sorry for the language, but this is bullshit. Kids are supposed to be active....parents/grandparents/babysitters should be feeding their children healthy food (and the occasional sweet treat). OH and how many of us as children were rewarded with a cookie or some type of sweet treat? ....now how many of us NOW do the same to ourselves? It's so true.

What we do in our childhood greatly affects us later in our lives. Teach children how to eat healthy...or just don't buy crappy food. All people do is complain about how much money healthy food is....I think it's time we cut the shit. Seriously, a bag of doritos and a box of macaroni and cheese HAS ZERO nutritional benefit really...so actually the money you spend on junk food is TOO EXPENSIVE since it's a waste of money. It's too expensive to buy healthy food yet we don't mind spending money on products that do NOTHING for us...actually those products cost even more than healthy food because you are going to have to spend that much more on healthcare later on. Whether that be dietitian appointments, physician appointments, gastric bypass surgery, diet books/food/magazines, cancer treatment, insulin for diabetics....that's the expensive part.

SO do me a huge favor and take some responsibility for the children in this nation. Teach them how to live active and healthy lives. Make fruits and vegetables something that is part of their diet and not just the evil green peas on the plate...oh and parents, don't pass on your eating preferences to your kids....they LOOK UP TO YOU for what is right or wrong or delicious or gross.

KIDS look up to ADULTS. It's our responsibility to take care of these children. Our kids should not be obese and we are going to be the ones to change that. Set a good example for the kids around you....whether they are yours or not.

IF we buck up and take care of ourselves, kids will follow suit. IF we show children how to take care of themselves, they will love us forever. IF you say no to having 5 cookies after dinner, they will not hate you, they will thank you later on. IF we get kids to be active and eat healthy, we will prevent Childhood Obesity. That's my solution.

Childhood Obesity...it's something we are all shaking our heads about but doing nothing about. And that's a shame.

Take some responsibility for your health

You have one body. One mind. ONE LIFE.

Take advantage of all of the information and equipment that is out there in the fitness and nutrition fields. There is no reason why we can't eat healthy and exercise.

Wake up early or work out right when you get home. Don't allow yourself to make excuses. It's time to stop making excuses and start taking responsibility for your own health.

Healthcare is not preventative. Healthcare is what happens AFTER the damage is done. No one does any prevention right now....no one cares until something bad happens. And honestly, that sucks.

Why not eat healthy NOW and exercise NOW instead of becoming obese with Type 2 diabetes and a high risk of having a heart attack or acquiring cancer?

We can't control everything...we can't control our family history or our genetics. BUT it's about what we CAN control. You can control what you buy at the grocery store...what you put in your mouth/your children's mouth...you can control what you do with your body. You can decide to work out and challenge yourself. YOU can decide to be as healthy as you can.

With the rates of obesity (child and adult) increasing...the cancer rates increasing...the diabetes rates increasing...the rates of heart attacks increasing...it's a no brainer that SOMETHING has to be done.

It's time to take control of your own health..and your family's health.

SO control what you can and forget about what you can't. If you don't do anything about your health, your health will do nothing for you.

Hope this makes you want to get moving and start eating real food.

because You're worth it.