Obesity Never a Big Deal 30-40 Years Ago

I believe that the media played and continue to play an important part in pushing the obesity epidemic across the United States.

It is rare indeed if a nurse holds a nutritional degree. However, it is the nurse that reviews all lab work along with a dietitian, telling whether or not the patient has a nutritional deficiency. It is the nurse who consults with the dietitian in regards to the proper diet and then discusses this with the patient's doctor.

It is the nurse and dietary professional that gives good common sense advice to the patient about eating healthy and making lifestyle changes.

Developing Lifestyle Changes in Nutrition

I have been a nurse for over 40 years and have worked with many dieticians, doctors, nutrition counselors, and patients regarding diets and nutrition. Even though I do not have any degrees in nutrition, I have done a lot of research in the arena of health and the impact proper diets have on the human body.

I have researched many so-called fad diets that many people come to rely on to lose weight. I found that there are well over 200 different diets on the market today. What I found was overwhelming, and I, for one, could not believe that so many people fall for these unhealthy "fad" diets. I am not talking about great organizations like Weight Watchers International and a few others who encourage healthy lifestyle changes.

I found late in life that I needed to forget the diet. Diets are temporary solutions to a lifetime problem. When a person finally makes their commitment to getting healthy and well, become physically fit, and within their ideal body weight range, it is only through a lifestyle change this can occur. I believe this to be true 99.9 percent of the time.

Eat well-balanced meals daily.

I believe the best diet you can go on is a balance of fresh or frozen fruits and vegetables, lean meats, chicken, turkey, and fish, avoiding too many red meats per week. I believe that meals should be eaten in moderation and until the stomach hurts and you are feeling full.

I believe, as my old traditional doctor told me so many years ago, "Push yourself away from the take when you are 'sufficiently' filled and make sure what you are eating is well-balanced. Refer to the old food pyramid chart."

Fresh Fruits Versus a Dessert Loaded With Carbs

Doctor Deepak Chopra, M.D.

I was reading about nutrition and came across a beautiful article by best selling author Doctor Deepak Chopra, MD. I have followed some of his great pieces, and I thought that his article hit the obesity problem in America right on the head.

Someone else will no doubt have a different take on this author's belief regarding obesity, and that is alright. To each their own. This author has had some new and exciting revelations regarding obesity.

First of all, it is necessary that people understand we have one of the worst all-time epidemics spreading across America and this obesity epidemic continues to worsen.

If you are 30 pounds over your ideal weight range and can pinch over one inch of fat at the waistline, you are obese. At least this is what a doctor told me years ago, and this was the rule of thumb in the nursing profession.

Can you pinch an inch?

I believed this Holistic family doctor of our family and I still find this to be true. Yes, I am in the same boat as millions of others who are overweight. I am watching what I eat (well sometimes), and I am walking at least 1.5 miles three times a week (I try hard).

I have dropped over 50 pounds and still have some to lose. I have lost eight clothing sizes. With all this said, my doctor still considers me obese.

I am slowly succeeding in reaching my goal of 40 more pounds and one more clothing size, and I am satisfied with myself. I am a work in progress for the rest of my life; lifestyle changes never stop when one reaches their weight goal.

A Different Take on Obesity

Doctor Deepak Chopra has turned his focus to a different reason for the obesity problem, causing this epidemic in the United States. He says he has exciting new concepts that many overweight people probably have not been looking at, creating their obesity. This Doctor goes on to ask readers,

"What are you hungry for?"

"What is eating at you?"

This author is not talking about ice cream, pizza, and potato chips; he is talking about a personal fulfillment in life. Food is a comforting asset to millions of people, including me.

When you hunger for something, it does not always mean you are hungry for food, but food seems to be the solution for many people's problems.

Why are you hungry?

• Peace of mind, in your life, in the world?
• Love?
• Self-esteem?
• Improved health?
• A new job or career?
• Fewer bills/No bills?
• More money?
• Travel?
• Presence of children, more children, or for your children to go away for a few hours? (and much more)

Whatever you hunger for, Doctor Chopra feels that people need to understand and gain a deep awareness of why they overeat in the first place. This doctor thinks that many people use food as a substitute for real fulfillment in life.

This is a concept that I heard years ago and believed as much then as I do today; even in my own life, I am a living testament to this fact.

I always believed that diets are not the answer, especially crash diets and all forms of removing nutritional foods from one's life to lose weight.

Once this deep seeded need for fulfillment is achieved and the deep seeded problems are faced and disposed of, that person begins to eat healthier once again.

He feels that the mind and body are strongly attached one to the other. I have found this to be true throughout my nursing career with many of my patients and myself.

Can we 'will' ourselves ill or healthy?

I have had instances in my personal life as well as monitoring my patients that the mind has a strong bearing on illness and an unhealthy state. I have seen people "will" themselves to become ill, by dwelling on a particular problem. I have instances where if I have a small thing like a severe headache it only gets worse when I dwell on the issue.

I am not saying that this is true in every instance; what I am trying to say is that each person can "will" themselves healthy or not and they may not even be trying.

I have seen many of my patients "will" themselves to die when they honestly felt they were at the end of their life, all hope gone and nothing more to live for, even though they were not in a dying process. A person can enter this dying process by merely willing their mind to do so, and no one person or thing can pull them back.

I do realize that this is not true in situations such as terminal cancer or any other illness or disease of which we have no control over, or do we?

Could we have avoided a terminal diagnosis? What could we have done differently or are illnesses such as cancer strictly in the genes we carry? Part of me says, "No."

All individuals have a complicated and complex life.

One thing is for sure, never feel you have a dull, boring life. Your life is complex and complicated, and as a rule, people find it challenging to change themselves or their life.

This change takes an enormous amount of motivation. It a person is not motivated, a lifestyle change can never happen. As I said before, I believe in losing weight and becoming healthy a lifestyle change, through motivation is needed for the rest of one's life and that is a very long time.

Most of us have had and still have bad eating habits. We have bad memories, bad experiences with people and situations that we wish we could erase from our minds, but we fail time and again.

Chopra believes that everyone desires fulfillment in their life and wants to be happy. Who desires to live an unhappy life? If you find no satisfaction in your life, you are not satisfied. All those bad things in our life must be trashed once and for all and never thought of again.

Chopra says that each of us must find what we are hungry for and this desire will lead us in the right direction towards a fulfilling life and a life without the extra burden of excess weight.

Chopra says that false desire always leads one in the wrong direction. Research what Doctor Chopra is discovering and see if you agree or disagree with what he has found in his study.

Used for Reference Only:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/deepak-chopra/

https://www.deepakchopra.com/