Good Day Humboldt County!
I’ve been reading a lot of articles about how fat Americans are lately. Yes, fat. I know it’s more politically correct to say obese, but let’s face it…we’re becoming a nation of porkers! Each study I read gets more dire every year. For example:
An April 3rd article “Obesity in America: Rate Higher Than Previously Thought, BMI Unreliable”
"Roughly 30 percent of Americans are obese, but when you use other methods, closer to 60 percent are obese," Dr. Eric Braverman, lead researcher and president of the Path Foundation, a nonprofit medical research group, told HealthDay. "We call BMI the 'baloney mass index.'"
From the Center for Disease Control and Prevention:
U.S. Obesity Trends - National Obesity Trends:
“More than one-third of U.S. adults (35.7%) are obese.
Approximately 17% (or 12.5 million) of children and adolescents aged 2—19 years are obese.”
[Data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES)]
Trends by State 1985–2010
“During the past 20 years, there has been a dramatic increase in obesity in the United States and rates remain high. In 2010, no state had a prevalence of obesity less than 20%. Thirty-six states had a prevalence of 25% or more; 12 of these states (Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and West Virginia) had a prevalence of 30% or more.”
I could go on, but you have the idea. Now it’s time for the big announcement:
The Big Announcement
My wife and I joined a health club and we’re both determined to lose weight and turn our jello-like muscles into ripped, rock-hard pythons! Well, Shirley’s not too interested in getting ripped. She’s all about getting her muscle tone back and losing a few pounds. Me too. I’m really not worried about sporting a six-pack, but any improvement would be a better look than my current man-boobs!
What I’m really excited about is there’s an indoor basketball court. I was Basketball Jones until fracturing my back in 1991, while playing in a men’s league in Palm Desert. Basketball was my favorite sports activity throughout school, while in the military, and with city teams from Cleveland, Ohio, to numerous cities in California.
Since my injury in 1991, I was barely able to play. I played in a men’s pickup league in Mack Town briefly before hanging up my sneakers. I finally had back surgery in 1995. It’s been a slow rehab. I have arthritic knees. But I have been walking for the last couple of years (with my beloved pug Millie) and it’s time for me to get serious about my rapidly deteriorating body. There’s a hot tub to soak in after I spend time on that basketball court…dribbling (and drooling) around and taking impossible shots because I have not attempted one since 1992.
Why now? Why not? My wife and I both want to be around for a while. Staying in shape should help. I figure it’s never too late to try. No pain. No gain. Stay tuned for a future post where I whine like a baby about how my much muscles hurt (or how I broke my ankle before taking my second shot at the hoop)! Meanwhile, TODAY IS DAY ONE!
Time for me to walk on down the road…
3 comments:
It's so easy to just let go and eat whatever you want.
I have a lot of obesity in my family. I probably average about 220 at 6'3". but during the winter I gain weight and then work like crazy to lose it in the spring. So I go from 225-230 in winter to 190-195 in summer. Now that can't be good....
I'm 6'2" and weigh 235 pounds.
My weight stays steady year around.
The bad news it nevers goes down!
I won't even go into how bad my muscle tone is - well, just one quick example:
I was playing Wei bowling with my grandson for about an hour os so the other day.
The next day my arm was so sore I couldn't believe it!
Hey, I challenge you to a game of one-on-one. Put your money where your mouth is......
Post a Comment