Swimsuit Season -- don't run for cover!

“Find out who you are, then do it with purpose” ~ Dolly Parton

If the word swimsuit makes you want to press “fast forward” to cooler weather requiring clothes that yields more coverage, you may need to stop and get a body image boost. Learning to respect our body is one of the most challenging issues for ladies today. Perfectly airbrushed women are constantly flashing before us on television, poised on the cover of our coffee table magazines, and in fashion advertisements.

The problem is they’re telling us what’s hot is something that we’re not. Quite often the images women compare themselves to are those that have been inhumanly airbrushed, have added hair extensions for long locks, botoxed lips and surgically implanted breasts.

Perhaps this is why we hear our friends and ourselves say, “My hair is too thin, my lips aren’t puffy enough, and my breasts are too small.”

There is a culturally induced desire for a “perfect” body that has come before the respect, care, and love of the body we have. I am certainly not immune to the adverse impact of the media when it comes to body image but I have been fortunate to have some very strong women in my life that have shown me otherwise. Women that embrace their curves as feminine beauty are those I look to for inspiration.

Christiane Northrup, M.D., says, “We all have to retrain our eyes to see the beauty in a healthy woman with a healthy body composition. Most supermodels must be about 18 percent body fat or less.”

She goes on to say, “Articles in TV Guide and People magazine have documented that most media personalities have had or will have plastic surgery at some point in their careers. The models of perfection who beam into our global living rooms everyday set up a standard that is impossible for most to aspire to without resorting to measures such as surgery.”

I have friends that have put off wonderful beach trips to avoid being in swimsuits, know women who make love only with the lights off or dress behind closed doors. Some women will not allow their spouses to see them without makeup.

Life is simply too short to worry about the size of our thighs or a belly that shows life-giving stretch marks. It is time we accept our bodies unconditionally in this present moment and kick the media’s idea of sexy to the curb.

I once was feeling self conscious about a trip to the hot springs when my friend said, “Honey, I guarantee you he won’t look at you in that swimsuit and be thinking about the size of your thighs”.

AC/DC sings it best with the line “knocking me out with those American thighs.” I highly doubt he’s singing about perfectly toned muscular legs.

The fact is that we can stand in front of our mirrors all day and pick ourselves to the bone but rarely ever would anyone go out of their way to zone in on that part of our body in a negative way. We are our own worse critics.

Yes, ladies it’s true that a glimpse of the “perfect” woman may turn your man’s head for a moment but let’s see how he feels about the hours it takes to look this way. We can all walk out of a hair salon with beautiful bouncy hair with high volume but it takes them at least 45 minutes and every styling product known to man to achieve it. Do we want to invest time and money in this everyday? Doubtful.

Same with high heel shoes, they may make our legs appear longer and more slender but is an aching back worth the vanity? What works for an hour photo shoot may not work so well for an evening out on the town with real dancing and other real life festivities. A beautiful woman that’s cranky with tired feet may not shine as bright as the radiant chick that’s feeling comfortable in her own fashionable attire.

Coco Chanel once said, “Adornment is never anything except the reflection of the heart.” Perhaps we should find fashion that makes us feel good and sexy, allowing our natural light and vitality to shine.

Make a commitment today to respect your body as it is right now. Women who like themselves and have accepted themselves have such a contagious energy. They are irresistible and a blast to be around. Cosmo may disagree with me but I think a healthy confident woman exudes far more beauty and charisma.

Healthy Kids lose 126 pounds

“Children and parents admitted to eating from drive-thru windows at least four times per week. Now that‘s a problem,” explained BJ Fletcher

Are you killing your kids?

Last Thursday evening , May 21, at The Merry Acres Event Center, Healthy Kidz graduated 13 children between the ages of 7 - 13 that had collectively lost 126 pounds within a 90 day program. BJ Fletcher, founder, ended the graduation ceremony with this startling statement, “The Heart and Lung Association says by the year 2015, one out of five families will bury their child. We are now in the time where we outlive our children.”

“These kids have really been in the public eye for this accomplishment,“ says Fletcher. “One of our participants, Rhett, age 9, did such an impressive interview with Fox 31 that we received almost forty phone calls the next day. He summed up in two minutes what doctors and nutritionists have been trying to express for years just by sharing his desire to not be overweight.”

Rhett had only had fifteen pounds to shed but wanted to be healthy so he could play football and be active and strong. He requested his parents enroll him in Healthy Kidz.

“Obesity can happen fast,” says Fletcher. “What the parents don’t realize is that 15 pounds can become a hundred very quickly when they are buying these kids fast foods and letting them drink 3 to 4 soft drinks per day.”

Upon enrollment Fletcher has each child give a pledge to avoid sodas for 90 days. On average, the children reported drinking three to four soft drinks a day prior to taking this pledge.

“The common problems reported by kids in our program were chicken nuggets, french fries and sodas. Children and parents admitted to eating from drive-thru windows at least four times per week. The food is fried and the drinks are filled with mounds of sugar. Four times a week -- now that‘s a serious problem,” exclaims Fletcher.

Corporations benefit greatly when they accomplish getting a young child hooked on their “food” products, they immediately win the business of the entire family. This marketing is clever and it’s targeted to young minds in the form of toys, playgrounds and more.

Television commercials can turn a grocery store trip into a nightmare. Have you ever noticed how there are no jingles about eating healthy fruits and vegetables? They certainly don’t come with Sponge Bob Square Pants ™ toys either. There is a huge connection with the almighty dollar and the obesity epidemic we face today. Companies are here to make money at your child’s expense.

“Fast Food joints are appealing to the parents because often their schedule is packed to the max. Kids are overloaded with activities and parents are floundering trying to fit it all into the day,” says Fletcher. “It’s a cycle that must be broken.”

The majority of the obesity issues at Healthy Kidz are reported to be from lifestyle choices. There are a couple of kids that Prednisone started putting on the pounds. One child is 410 pounds at age 13. With weight such as this, it makes you must wonder how they have the energy to run, play and be a kid.

“Parents must realize that they are responsible for their child’s health. We would not have this success without supportive parents. It’s been a learning experience for everyone involved. We joke and say, ‘If you don’t want to hear the truth, don’t call us.’ We’re not going to let the excuses slide by around here. We feel the kids are much more important than that,” says Fletcher.

“One of the biggest excuse was the cost of eating healthy. Well, I blew that out of the water. You’ve got to stop shopping at convenient stores and fast food places. Stop spending your grocery budget on these filler products that are making you sick -- potato chips, sodas, boxed desserts. You can buy a candy bar for $1.25 and a soda for $1.50. A case of water and a few packs of crystal light can bring your total drink cost to about $.40.
A box of 25 health bars is $10.”

Midway through the semester Fletcher welcomed a nutritionist to the team, Susan Nelson, M.ED, CPT. Together they taught the kids healthy alternatives to their favorite snacks.

“Nutrition is not what I do, it’s who I am. The lack of knowledge just boggles my brain. This information is everywhere. There are labels on everything and still people do not know how to properly take care of their body’s nutritional requirements,” explains Nelson.

“I often think back to my grandmother’s childhood, which today is like living on a different planet, it was totally different then. She was born in 1889. She actually didn’t go to school because she plowed a mule all day and picked cotton with her hands. She knew that hard work needed the proper fuel. She knew to eat fruits and vegetables and she taught my mother that,” says Nelson.

“Today, however, people are geared not to think. BJ [Fletcher] and I have this conversation all the time. They just drive thru and get it. The bag gets tossed in the backseat and it‘s called dinner. It’s sad because the kids don’t have a choice and they also learn that this is ‘food’,” says Nelson.

In today’s society, kids are raised eating far from the way mother nature intended. Farm to plate is rarely seen anymore and this so called “food” is loaded with preservatives, artificial colors and flavors, and worse.

Parents need to realize the umbrella of problems that come from obesity. In addition to physical struggles such as lack of energy, constipation, and acne, there are emotional issues that are very damaging. It effects the way they see the world.

“The hardest part has been being present to hear their emotional burdens of obesity. Bullying is an issue, not feeling comfortable in clothing, worrying if they’ll be made fun of or have enough energy to finish. It’s very sad because the kids aren‘t driving themselves to these fast food places nor are they filling up the grocery buggy,” says Nelson.

The group has recently added parenting classes to the program. “It’s a family issue. At our graduation program we asked these kids what they needed to make this work through the summer while away for vacation. They all said family support,” says Fletcher. “We had all the parents get up and dance with the kids and three minutes into the song everyone was smiling and laughing -- in just three minutes. A lot can happen if we’d just turn off the television for 30 minutes, take a walk outside or turn up the music and dance together.”

Nelson says, ”Mindful eating and movement are the most important aspects of any weight loss program. People must be aware of their food choices and the need to burn those calories.”

“The new American plate is recommended to be 2/3 fruits and vegetables,” says Nelson. “This is a 9 inch plate not a 12 inch plate like we’re used to. It has been suggested by the American Academy of Pediatrics, The National Cancer Research Center, The CDC, and so on, that if we do this one thing we can greatly reduce this obesity epidemic that is upon us today.”

An interesting note, out of 16,000 students enrolled in the Dougherty County School System, only 100 phone calls came through to inquire about the Healthy Kidz program. Out of those 100 calls, only 13 families signed up. Many that signed up were urged by their child’s pediatrician because of issue with pre-hypertension and pre-diabetes (type 2).

Candy, sugar and sodas are not just an issue at home. It is also quite often part of a daily offering within the school system. How did this type of food become associated as being “rewards” or “snacks”? It’s time to take a step back and really see what we are doing to our children. If medical issues such as obesity, hypertension, and diabetes are not a wake up call, I shudder at the thought of what might be. It’s time to listen to what the American Heart and Lung Association are saying, “Are we killing our children?”