There’s an inundation of affirmations related to how important our health and wellbeing is. The “I am’s” and “I musts”, followed by a plethora of statements connected to one’s bad health or overweight issues are shining new lights on creativity, should make an impact confirming that health is indeed wealth?
The numbers don’t lie. We say it yet don’t always turning these affirmations into fruition.
As a long-time Bangkok resident, the changes I have seen in hip circumventions are real when remembering then versus now. And the staggering of overweight and obesity numbers is on the rise. Thailand’s Ministry of Health has little to no numbers in their annals showing that the population is growing…in the wrong direction.
But other sources – such as the World Health Organization – have reported that the obesity rate in Thailand has risen from 8.6% in 1975 to 32.6% in 2016. Adding to this demise in health markets is that the population has grown from 42 million to 67 million in the same period. The exponential growth in absolute numbers is larger than the % growth. And this is merely an example for Thailand.
Worrying numbers, and especially citing that more evidence related to deteriorating health markers, diseases such as diabetes and cancer, and lower immune systems are pointing the finger more in these directions. All concluding that keeping your weight in check as a simple solution to omit the chance to increase the risk may be an option to consider.
An ever surmounting amount of proof shows that weight gain is a benefactor to risking diseases we don’t even want to wish to our worst enemies. But why is it that we say more and more that “health is so important,” but the figures say otherwise?
Is it because many countries have been in partial lockdown in 2020 and 2021, thus blaming our belly obeying gravity to the situation?
Is it because we feel when we say “health is so important”, excess fat flows away like when the tooth fairy flies off in the middle of the night with your polished tooth?
Or are we ignorant to the fact that we’ve become more sedentary, succumbing to the age of technology where food is delivered to our doorstep with the click of a button?
Or are we ignorant to how the food industry has changed the way we perceive good nutrition? On this point, Google for a vintage beach image from the 1970s and spot the overweight persons.
I am not saying that these are the primary reasons. Or that these statements related to your own life for 100%. But there are hues of truth in the above. Are you taking action on your weight loss plans?
Another affirmation I often see and hear is “I have to lose some weight”. From the same who preach that “health is so important”. A living and breathing example has written this article as you are reading it. We tend to say it but feel comfortable in the fact that what we say gives us that leverage that we actually may do something about it while not doing anything affirmative about taking that first step.
Why?
Just like me a couple of years ago, we seek comfort. Comfort is our happy place. This soothing environment provides a safe haven where habitual changes are locked behind bars. We live complex lives. We are constantly busy in search of new gratifications, taking care of our family and loved ones, and eagerly await the arrival of a 2-week holiday to unwind and go crazy.
And there is nothing wrong with that.
Discomfort is like turning the first page of your life’s book you must read to graduate but don’t want to. It is because you are forced to go through it page by page, day in day out. It will show that what you actually do and need. And it does not lead to what you write over and over again on your Facebook page. Or what you etch in your New Year’s Resolution as a must-do. Just think this through when in need to upsize your jeans from size 36 to 38. I start to sense that the words weight loss and taking action are getting more and more disassociated these days. Are you taking these mantras seriously?
And knowing that you carry your book all the time with you, we tend to ignore the discomfort. This book in a more tangible format is the visceral and subcutaneous fat. After all, comfort is much more satisfying than discomfort.
In this day and age, comfort comes with risks – risks in the form of incremental cases of ailments and diseases. Some of which did not exist 40-50 years ago. Society is changing and we change with society. But health remains a stable constant if we are aware, have a clear mission, and turn our words into deeds.
The basics of nutrition have not changed, but our perception of what good nutrition actually has. Many of us are in a state where we know something has to be done but going through that level of discomfort is putting us off.
It would be awesome when you turn your affirmations and mantras into something tangible. You do not have to do this alone. Records have shown that a buddy, a teammate, someone who stands beside you, turning the tide and turning that new page in that must-read incrementally turn these affirmations and mantras into sustainable and proven statements.
Make a conscious coaching choice when you write down “I need to lose some weight,” or “Health is so important“. It is time for taking action on your weight loss strategies and this must be aligned with what you preach.
It does not matter how slowly you go, as long as you don’t stop | Confucius
