I recorded and watched this special, “FAT: What No One is Telling You,” on PBS, I thought it presented an unbiased look at obesity and the unfolding medical and life stories behind the building obesity trend in our country. 

Here’s a link to a preview of the show: 
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/takeonestep/fat/video-preview.html

The PBS special made me think of a particular time, my sophomore year in high school, when I moved to Rhode Island and had to take a regular physical to play high school soccer. I went in and the nurse did her thing and afterwards she told me I was over weight and needed to lose a few pounds.

As it happened, I was wearing very baggy sweats that day and looked a little pudgy. I looked at her sideways, thought for a moment and stripped off my sweat shirt. Her mouth dropped wide open, I was in the best shape of my life, with only about 4-6% body fat and pure muscle. I looked her straight in the eye and asked, “are you sure I need to lose weight?” She said that according to the insurance industry chart, for my height and weight, I was on the mildly obese side. Strange and sad. I laughed, put my shirt back on and left, shaking my head with bewilderment. I still remember her comment and I think about how people get labeled in this manner and how it has probably affected their whole lives.

In my opinion, it’s not how you look, it’s how you feel and that you exercise regularly. Check out this story over at the LATimes, “Marathon or Bust for this Lazy Marathoner” by Rene Lynch, it’s strikingly similar and shows that snap judgements can sometime be dead wrong and harmful. 

When I tell people I’m training for the L.A. Marathon, they all have exactly the same reaction. They pause, give me an up-and-down look. They’re even more surprised when I tell them I’ve run two marathons already (L.A. and N.Y.), and many more half marathons (most recently the Long Beach Half Marathon in October and the Surf City Half Marathon in January).

I think that exercise is not about how you look, it’s about how you feel, perform and that you actually show up and participate. So get out there and start. Do it for yourself and health, not for the end result or how you look or how much weight you lose. Enjoy the exercise journey and you’ll end up healthy and fit, no matter how you look and what others think.

MikeZ_i don’t care what other people think, i do it for me.

Please consult your physician before starting any exercise or weight loss program.
Your physician is your very best resource.