The Big Lie of Obesity - Big Being the Operative Word

The best laid plans of mice and (wo)men.....  I resolved to blog weekly starting in January and that resolution fell by the wayside almost immediately.  (Life is what happens when you're busy making other plans.)  I will try I am committed to blogging weekly and you can throw rotten tomatoes at me if I don't.  So here goes.

Obese people are lazy, stupid and lack self control - discuss.  This is the prevailing attitude of that minority of people who are at a so-called "normal" weight.  And, sadly, so many overweight and obese people believe the same gross generalization.

Alan Christianson, an Arizona-based naturopathic medical doctor blogs for the Huffington Post Healthy Living section.  His article "The Big Lie of Obesity" caught my eye because he is challenging the prevailing attitude.  And his article is backed up by journal references.  

He says "To solve this (obesity) crisis, we first let go of the lie that obesity is a matter of choice. That lie is wrong, it is hurtful, and it distracts us from real solutions."

Check out the full article at http://www.huffingtonpost.com/alan-christianson/post_8519_b_6054642.html?utm_hp_ref=healthy-living&utm_source=zergnet.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=zergnet_302742

Christianson tweets at www.twitter.com/alannmd 

I suppose if I am embracing social media (see my Facebook page Eat, Think and Be Merry) and this blog, I should at least try and understand what Twitter actually is!!!

It is the 2nd of January - how many resolutions have already fallen by the wayside??

Greetings dear blog reader and Happy New Year.  Astonishingly, it is six months since I posted anything here and what a half year it has been.  I moved into a new house and I now have an international homestay student from China living with me.  But the main thing that has kept me away from the keyboard is actually two-fold.  With a combined age of 186.  Yes, my mother and her best friend - both aged 93.

My mother Margaret, we now know, has Alzheimer's and has had some mini strokes.  She has emphysema and is quite frail and thin.  As a result she's no longer able to stay in her flat.  Getting to this stage has been an uphill battle. Lots of wonderful services were instigated to help her stay at home but to no avail.  Getting her sorted has been almost a full time job.  And Joan, her lovely friend who is like my second mother, is as sharp as a tack but her body is truly failing her.  Getting her the assistance she needed, too, was plenty of work.  Their age and needs were major factors in my moving from Melbourne to Adelaide one year ago.

The good news is that I am ready to set up my private practice in Adelaide and expect to really enjoy the face to face connection with clients who I may be able to help around their issues with eating, weight and emotions. And I'm really looking forward to blogging more and posting more fun and thought-provoking stuff at my Facebook page - Eat, Think and be Merry.

So back to this new year - 2015.  What do you want to achieve?  How will you do it?  When will you know you've reached your goal?  What's the time frame?

The vast majority of New Year's resolutions are forgotten within two weeks - don't let that be you this year.  I have some help for you, courtesy of the great people at Pritikin (www.pritikin.com).  They have some fantastic suggestions with ways to achieve them, such as:

1.  Write your goals down… in detail. List both Health Goals and Life Goals.

2.  When first starting out, keep life simple.

3.  Emulate those who have succeeded at long-term weight loss.

4.  Put something you value on the line.

5.  Keep life fun.

Here's the link:  http://www.pritikin.com/how-to-keep-new-years-resolutions?ibp-adgroup=newsletter

I'd love to hear what your New Year's resolutions are and how you are going to achieve them.  I'll tell you more about mine next time I blog.