The Beginning

Health and fitness have been a big interest of mine in the last two years. An interest taken note by my family, friends and co-workers. There are so many perspectives given on what is healthy, dictated by the media and connected to beauty. What is true, is that Americans in general are unhealthy and our daily habits add to that unhealthy lifestyle. So many diseases and health problems that Americans face today is preventative and is brought upon by obesity due to unhealthy eating and lifestyle.

According to the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Results from the 2003-2004 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), using measured heights and weights, indicate that an estimated 66 percent of U.S. adults are either overweight or obese. Another statistic According to the American Heart Association, more than 9 million children and adolescents between the ages of 6 and 19 years are considered overweight on the basis of being in the 95th percentile or higher of BMI values in the 2000 CDC growth chart for the United States. (NHANES [2003-2004], NCHS; JAMA. 2006;295:1549-1555.) These statistics continue to rise.

There are so many "solutions" offered out there to fight weight gain. Almost all of these solutions make it sound simple by taking a pill or supplement, which in my opinion is a big mistake. Where is the mention of how to eat properly or workout properly? The before and afters photos of people are great and are inspiring but the back story of the real hard work is not really shown. I understand their business sense, they can't say it's hard, they have to make it look easy to sell. But it's a disservice to the American public to make it seem like some magic fix all.

My hope for this blog is to give eating advice, workout tips/plans and make it easier for my family, friends and co-workers to follow in some of the footsteps that have helped me from being a 252lb (6'1") lazy college Engineering student to a happier 205lbs (still slowly going down) active Engineering professional. My plan is to have this be a weekly blog (maybe 2 entries a week) that will cover various topics in physical health such as eating, working out and lifestyle.

It is important for everyone to know that weight loss should not only be a goal to look better for that reunion coming up, a wedding you need to fit into a dress/suit for, or a trip. This should be for life. I see it too many times that people are looking for the quick fix and quickly return to old habits once a certain goal is reached. Let me be clear about this, this is not easy and it should be a lifestyle change for the rest of your life! It does not help you for me to lie and say this is easy, it's not but I am happier with myself now than any other point in my life and it is easier now than at the start of my turn around. Those beginning steps are where the work really is. The quicker a person understands this mentally that it will be a hard task the quicker physically you'll be able to start your turn around. I am fortunate enough to be pretty self motivated but for those that need that extra push, definitely find that person with a mutual goal and take the steps together.

My next blog will cover the beginnings steps a person should take (the exact same ones I took myself) to becoming the healthier, fitter, active and happier you. I hope that this blog can serve a great purpose of inspiring others to take the positive steps into a healthier, active and happier life.