Is Exercise Enough? Obviously not...

You know there is a problem in this country when even our pets are fat. We live in a society abundant with food, fat, sugar, and lethargy. There doesn't seem to be a happy medium either...you are either obese or anorexic. Schools try and make up the difference with a quarter or semester of gym and Domino's Pizza. Many parents don't teach their children healthy eating choices and the media bombards us with fast food, sweet treats, sexy bodies, miracle diets, and exercise equipment for the rest of us to work off all the fat.

I think a bigger concern should be a focus on a healthy lifestyle and exercise habits for everyone, not just obese people. Everywhere we turn, the media tells us how we should dress, what to wear, how to look and what kind of body is perfect. Many young women starve themselves to look like a super-model, only to find themselves just as unhealthy (if not worse) than many overweight people.

Having fought with my weight for quite a bit of my life, I have found that regardless of how well I eat, I have never lost weight without some kind of exercise. I was heavy when I was younger until I discovered sports. After that, I ate whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted, without any problem. Finding sports was almost a religious experience. However, I never understood how poorly I ate.

I gained about 100 lbs when I was pregnant when I was 17. I was depressed and unhappy for quite sometime and I didn't even want to leave the house. Although I exercised, it was not nearly to the level I used to, and my eating habits were not even close to healthy. After a few years, I became so obsessed with my weight that I made myself so sick I ended up having a miscarriage when I did not even know I was pregnant. I exercised to the point I put myself in the hospital, I counted every fat gram I ate and weighed myself countless times a day. I worked security at a forklift plant that had 3 forklift scales and I started weighing myself 3 times an hour on each scale and averaging my weight over an eight or ten hour shift.

I also worked nights at the security plant by myself. I started walking more than just my regular security rounds. I tried to end up 1 pound lighter every night I went to work. I started walking 2 miles a night, then 3,4,5...I kept walking until sometimes I would walk 25 miles during a 10 hour shift. I felt so much pressure to lose weight, and of course people noticed, that I kept pushing myself past the point any semblance of a healthy life style. It took sometime to come to a balance of healthy exercise and proper nutrition.

Young adults are not given many of the proper tools regarding nutrition, exercise, and positive body image by their parents or during the educational process. More so than exercise or healthy eating alone, we need to impart that a balance of eating healthy and exercise are a choice that leads to a healthier and happier lifestyle.