Ever feel like you're alone when starting your health kick?
Don't worry you're not.
But when you do start, you'll have to come to terms with the fact that you will be a minority.
Why? Well...
62% of people in the UK and over 70% of people in the US are overweight/obese (1).
Digital.NHS.UK, 2020
No fat-shaming here. Just straight facts.
This has quadrupled over the last 25 years.
Now in 2020, one-third of the population has been predicted to become obese and with it, come the extra costs to the national healthcare systems.
It has now become normal to be overweight or obese based on these statistics with over half of the population falling into this category (1).
This puts most of the public at risk of diseases associated with excess body fat such as:
- Cardiovascular disease,
- Type 2 diabetes,
- Neurodegenerative diseases
...and many, many more.
These are just the health-related risks.
Are your well-being challenges weight related?
Your well-being will also take a nose-dive long before these diseases occur (2, 3).
Common issues that can occur around general well-being often include:
-Fatigue
-Low mood
-Low Libido
-Addiction
-Lack of mental clarity
-Lack of motivation
and many others.
But I'm not bringing up these facts to make you another stat.
Only to bring awareness that health conditions are often linked to one another and that being overweight or obese may be impacting other areas of your health, such as your mental health, reproductive health etc.
So you'll have two options at this point.
Option 1: If you do fall into these numbers, carry on as you are and as long as there are no issues, health-wise then you can continue to do so with content & fulfilment.
Option 2 : (Congratulations you've taken the red pill!) Accept you're ready to change, accept where you are, that you may need help & that changing will be hard. Then also accept that you will need to engage in the lifestyle habits & behaviours that will be different to, what you're doing now and the majority of people.
This can be difficult.
Getting Lit' - Know your new role
As humans, we are hardwired to enjoy social companionship from the people around us.
We love to gather, celebrate and really go for it.
However, to enjoy more healthful habits there's gotta be a trade-off with certain lifestyle rituals that we've become used to.
That's not to say you can't ever enjoy your favourite foods, go to parties or ever do 'normal' social activities again.
It's just that when it comes to western lifestyle, it's easy to regularly involve yourself with activities that include indulging in hyper-palatable ultra-processed food, excessive alcohol consumption and late nights that can often make life pleasurable in the short-term but lead to health demise in the long-term.
You've got to find your own 'balance'.
And I don't say balance like 'eat a balanced diet' but literally visual a see-saw balance of yourself with like monk levels of health & fitness and someone who couldn't care about one bit.
Someone who smokes, drinks, parties, takes recreational drugs etc, doesn't eat healthy, hasn't slept properly for months and has forgotten what water tastes like (we all may know or have known someone like this).
Balance is the key and your health is a by-product of how well this balance is going based on your circumstances.
Not happy with your health? You're being too lax with your habits.
Do your health goals get in the way of forming strong relationships or socialising enough?
You may be being too strict.
Don't worry though, getting that balance can be very difficult (you'll spend your whole life doing this without realising)!
Standing out from the 'New Normal'
To really get to grips with those statistics of between 60-70% of people in developed countries being overweight or obese, you must shift your mindset to understand that it is more normal to be on the heavy side of the scale.
By these statistics, it is abnormal to not carry around excess body fat. Therefore you must be able to recognise your unique health habits.
This shift in perspective will require you to create your own identity in your mind that provides the self-affirmation that you will engage in different eating habits to the majority of people and the normal status quo.
This is the hardest part of the fat-loss equation.
You will need to become the character, traits and behaviours that are associated with being lean, energetic and healthy.
Some ideas and principles to get familiar with before starting, or even restarting a health journey and making it last:
1. "I am okay with being different from the majority of people around me."
2. "I want to engage them in the nutrition and lifestyle behaviours that keep me free from chronic conditions and I understand that I will be an exception."
3. "I will want to feel good, have lots of energy, be a healthy weight, etc., and include some of my family and friends."
4. "I want to be around and have a functional body when I am 60, 70 years old etc and enjoy doing trips and activities with my grandchildren."
Once you become comfortable with these ideas, you've taken another key step on the journey to being fitter & healthier than you we're yesterday.
Bravo.
Welcome to 'red pill gang'.
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