If you do not understand racism (white supremacy) and how it works, everything else you understand will only confuse you. - Neely Fuller

We need something to clarify everything for us, because we get confused...but if we use the concept of Asili, we will understand that whatever it is they are doing, whatever terms they use, however they come at you, you need to be thinking about what? How is this going to facilitate their power and help them to dominate me? -Marimba Ani

Sunday, February 21, 2010

Food Fight 7: I'm Not Fat Trap

Food Fight #7

This recent safari towards better physical health began with giving myself a decent fighting chance by using food for its intended purpose - to strengthen every cell in my body. The journey has evolved into many beneficial discoveries. If you've read the other posts in this series and have not taken another step towards better health, perhaps you're on track or perhaps you've fallen into the I'm Not Fat Trap. This trap is self set and supported by dozens of daily social messages. These messages tend to make you feel pretty good about yourself for being anything but fat without getting to the heart of what health is about.

The skinny, slim, little, small, petite and thin aka usually underweight are often caught by this trap. Those neither underweight or overweight are frequently caught by this trap. Finally, those who have gained several pounds aka the slightly overweight sometimes fall into this trap.

Often there is a learned tendency in these three categories to not feel any necessity or urgency for lifestyle changes to improve health. “I'm Not Fat, no need to worry about that.”

Pain, disease,compromised immune systems and the conditions for cancer ain't just caused by too much exterior fat. You still must have a healthy lifestyle to strengthen your body against other ailments. Many of these problems are caused by things that affect all body types. Not looking fat doesn't even guarantee you won't have obesity-related problems. Why? Too much body fat on a non-fat looking body is still dangerous to health. That's right. You can be not fat and fat at the same time. This alone should stop the envy of those who ”can eat anything and never gain weight” because not looking fat doesn't mean having a free pass from health problems.

And another thing. Just because you're not fat doesn't mean you have more muscle than fat. Many of those who think, I'm Not Fat, would be better off by reducing some fat cells and replacing some, if not all, of those fat cells with muscle cells. Muscle weight is good weight.

Here's another warning that has not been sounded often and loudly enough. Just because you're not fat-looking on the outside doesn't mean you're not fat on the inside. Do not think “I'm Not Fat” and then sit back on health. Don't. It's a trap of the false sense of security kind. The simple truth might be, “Yes you probably are fat.” The time is now to hurry up and eat food! The time is now to tone up just the same as the overweight! Obtaining and maintaining physical health always begins with food, activity and you. This should be the focus everyday, not how much you weigh.

Look at body type as your primary barometer and that becomes more dangerous to your physical health than any virus. If you focus on health, the body type you should have will follow. Learn to love yourself as a picture of health.