Freeing the Slave, "YARC" Discussion Topic

[windwalker]

As most of you know I work in a shopping mall. A mall is an interesting place for a people watcher. When I don't have patients I will usually just watch the people go by. I had heard on the news that 6o percent of our states population were obese, so I started looking to see how my mall population stacked up. I thought I'd share my observations over the last 6 years.

Not surprisingly the weight is not the only issue but a symtom of a much larger problem.

People in general, most everone you see are packing a few extra pounds, seemed to be suffering from a lack of energy. I often have people come in and just ask if they can sit down for a few minutes because they are worn out from shopping. These are people in their late 30s and up, they become winded by shopping!

When you don't have the fitness to shop, then you have to be vertually unable to engage in much of anything that requires any activity. I can't imagine how awefull that must be. I love being active and going and doing, it would be horrible for me to become inslaved in an unfit body unable to enjoy anything that required activity.

Another not surprising thing I've noticed is that usually a whole family will be overweight, from the youngest children to the parents. The "Beer Gut" is very common in males in the 30s to 60s here. But it seems as the people get older they also get thinner. That surprises me, it seems that somewhere in the 60s people start being thinner again.

I'm wondering if it's because they are of a different generation, one that grew up on activity or if its a biological change that you go through. I'm going to make a "YARC" "SWAG", here and say it's because of the difference in thinking for their generation.

People who grew up being active are more used to doing for them selves than hiring everything manual out. People today have become slaves to the "Good Life". Very few people wash their own car anymore, it's so easy to pull into the car wash and sit down and rest while it gets done.

When I see teens going by the store they are carrying packages from the game store, or expensive T-Shirts from Hollester or Abacrombie and Finch. Don't see many with bags of exercise stuff like ball gloves. The local sports stores like FinishLine don't carry a lot of real running shoes because their sales are mostly the fashion style shoes instead of the performance stuff.

Anyone else have observations or theorys they would like to share? Please share your comments and ideas.

"YARC" Panda

 

[Big Vic]

Back in the day, during summer vacation, I can remember leaving the house in the morning and not returing until the street lights came on. Back then you didn't have to worry about gangs, crazy people, perverts, etc., and you could play outside all day. Heck, we played football or baseball in someone's back yard or basketball in someone's driveway, rode bikes, etc., etc., etc.

Today, I just think most parents are afraid to let their children play away from the house, and the home computer has provided a babysitting service to keep them there.

When I hear children talk about going to the gym to workout, I shake my head.

JMHO

 

[Hockeychic]

Dave, Vic agree with you 100% when I was a kid I had breaky and was out the door until someone came and made me come home for dinner....lunch would be whatever house we happen to be closest to when we got hungry and usually it was a quick PB & J sandwich, glass of milk and out the door, not someones mom or dad running out and grabing pizza and some pop and puttingon the coffee table infront of you while you and your friends are playing video games.

My kids are now teens and where very active kids, hockey, soccer, tae kwon doo, floor hockey, track and field etc. Now neither of them is very active, fortunatley they must have quick metobolisms now cause neither is close to being overweight. DS we have just convinced to do a marathon with us at the end of Sept so we will be getting him off the couch but DD who use to be most active one is in the "we are just hanging out" part of her life, fortunatley she never got intot he video game thing but DS did.

Dave I laughted when I read your decription of the teens cause that is mine, DS with the games store bag and DD with the Holister, Areopostale, etc bags..

My personal experience is I was a extremely fit person, got married, bought a house, had child #1, still pretty fit but not working out as much, worked full time raising a child, then had child #2 and all of a sudden there was no time for me and DH to get in any exercise, eatting good went out the window cause all we had time for between work and getting whichever child to there event was a drive thru something or other....or popcorn at the arena was dinner alot of nights for Mike and I...and there came the weight and lots of it. Once the kids got older Mike and I decided we needed to get in shape to be a good example for our kids, plus both of us have parents with heart disease...both my parents died at 67 with heart problems so now we have to time to take care of ourselves.....I am sure our story is very common....youth is definatley wasted on the young. How we are both in our 40's and finally getting it back together hopefully so that live strong active lives for a really long time.

Kim

 

[ms.mightyduck]

Dave, I so agree. I grew up in a small town with a few swimming lakes--we lived half a block from one. I learned to swim in that lake, and like others have said, we would get up early, swim all morning, head home and grab a sandwich and some juice for lunch, and then--back to the lake (with two quarters each for ice cream from the ice cream truck if we didn't get ice pops from the freezer).

I had to be home as soon as the street lights came on (anyone else remember that rule?), and I was only allowed to roam a two-block area so that my parents could find me if they needed me. Dad put sod in the backyard (no easy feat to grow in the sandy soil here) so that we could play in the backyard, too--again, we were outside all day every day. And summer days lasted forever...summer itself stretched out for almost as long as the school year in my mind. We were never bored--we could walk to the library, but if it was warm, even summer rain didn't keep us inside. We had "forts" in the woods and bicycles and all the time and energy to keep going until close to bedtime.

I was raised by parents who gave me a strict bedtime routine: bath time was either at 7:30 or 8, but if you waited until 8, you couldn't watch television with the parents because bedtime was 8:30 (I couldn't wait for a 9 p.m. bedtime--that didn't come until I was in fourth grade!). Back then, there weren't any fast food restaurants in our small town, so mom always made our meals.

DH and I talk about having children now, and I wonder if it is even possible to raise children that way anymore.

WWDave, there was a great article in today's Salon.com about "The Parent Trap," the baby bamboozle that has parents thinking "interactive" is the key when really, the child should have to interact with the toy, not the other way around. It specifically discusses the "Baby Einstein" phenomenon, saying:

"If Baby Einstein had been called 'Couch Potato Kiddie,' and the marketing had been 'Get your child started on the joys of watching television as early as possible,' that would have been honest marketing, and that really is what parents are buying."

The article claims the luxury baby market is creating the problem. Interesting reading.

Thanks for bringing this up. I need to get off the sofa!

 

[lilouisianagal]

I definitely agree with the get out the house model paired with good healthy food. That's how I grew up and I loved it. On the topic of the decrease in overweight/obese people decreasing over the age of 60, perhaps that has more to do with that being the age that obesity-linked illness catches up with people (therefore there are less people that are obese at that age). Just a few thoughts...

 

[ms.mightyduck]

My parents (okay, mostly my mom) would tell us, "Get out of the house! You are not spending the day in here. It's too nice outside."

Anyone else have parents who told them to go out and play? Do parents still do this, or is it a reportable offense?

 

[nepatsfan73]

When you don't have the fitness to shop, then you have to be virtually unable to engage in much of anything that requires any activity. I can't imagine how awefull that must be.

Trust me, it is awful. I have always been big, but very active. As a kid, like Vic and Kim, I was out the door as soon as possible, we road our bikes all over town, played basketball, baseball, football, etc in friends yards, at local parks, sneaking in golf courses, in the street, and could get ourselves to organized little league and basketball games by walking or on bikes. My kids (although we do have to limit his DS time) are all very active in diverse sports. (Also, don't put down all those teens shopping for those "expensive" T-shirts. My 15 y.o., who most restaurants still give a childrens menu to when we go, primarily shops at those stores in the clearance sections and even I am impressed with the stuff she brings home with the money she has -- most of which she earns on her own with her paper route.) Unfortunately for me, the kids and DW are doing great. I am the one who fell way behind, due to work, chauffering, frustration, etc. (although I still have some problems from the surgeries and related recovery issues I've decided to stop blaming that and to just get going again).

Its tough as an adult and parent of active kids when the body isn't cooperating. I was actually at the mall yesterday with oldest DD after a gymnastics meet and after sitting for several hours (tried to get up often during the meet, but it was held in a small gym without much room), I had to stop "shopping" on occassion to try to stretch the back (I am sure all the earlier sitting, plus 2 hour car drive back didn't help). It was very frustrating and I did feel awful. It is also an awful feeling when my DS who is 6 wants to play street hockey or baseball and I can only do it for 15-20 minutes at a time without being bent over and then need to take a quick 5 minute sitting/stretching break. He will even say "its time for Daddy to take a break" now, then later ask "When will you be able to run with me again so we can play longer."

Although I have set personal goals for completing distance walking events and losing weight, a primary reason for them is so that I can actually spend time doing things like the above with my kids and be there for them. Having two teen daughters now (and a third getting close), I think its important to be able to keep up with them when they are shopping at malls so I can look at the clothes they are picking up and embarrass them in the store, before they buy, by telling them they will not be let out of the house with it on. Its all part of being a responsible parent.

**Sorry about this post being more about my current personal frustrations rather than exactly on topic, but I thought it was related.

 

[windwalker]

Bill your imputs are always of value because you are blazing a trail that any one of us may someday have to follow. Your success will be a victory for all of us to celabrate.

Kim, I love that, "Youth is wasted on the young".

Duckie, we had a big farm pond about a mile from the house that was our local swimming hole. There was also a creek with water that was coming from an underground river, cold as a witch's heart, that was fun to swing over with the rope, if you fell in the water was freezing and everyone would laugh at you.

Vic, I strongly believe that the problem of gangs and such started getting bad when people stopped being outside. When people were sitting on their porches or washing their cars or working in the garden or even playing with the children they were a deterrent to the bad folk doing their evil unseen.

That was an interesting observation, that people who live an unhealthy lifestyle don't often live to be in their senior years.

"YARC" Panda

 

[Big Vic]

My parents (okay, mostly my mom) would tell us, "Get out of the house! You are not spending the day in here. It's too nice outside."

Anyone else have parents who told them to go out and play? Do parents still do this, or is it a reportable offense?

I was told that on more than one occasion. I'm sure these days it's considered some sort of child abuse.

 

[ms.mightyduck]

Panda, I bet you loved falling in that swimming hole!

Actually, I think I mentioned that my grandma didn't take care of herself at all--didn't go to the dr for nearly 50 years except to have babies, and even then she never kept a post-baby follow up visit for herself. She died two years ago just before her 83rd birthday--she'd be 85 this April. But living into her 80s doesn't tell the whole story--a lifetime of sedentary activity, Italian butter-heavy food, and smoking (!) meant that her retirement years were spent in hospitals or suffering from heart disease, COPD, and in the end, cancer. I used to tease her that she would never die because she was all mechanical parts.

I am starting this new exercise life this year because if I have children, I want them to be healthy and learn from example (my dad played softball in leagues when i was little but he and my mom get NO exercise now--and they are in their mid-50s and both disabled, in large part because of their sedentary life). And if I don't have children, I want to enjoy the life I have. My grandmother was so frustrated in the end because she never lost her mental edge and she KNEW all the things she couldn't do anymore. It was heartbreaking, really, and she did it to herself. And she knew it.

Modern society makes it so easy to sit here on this sofa watching the big flat screen (!) and surfing the net. I need to get up now. I have things to do.

 

[Tiger Lily 03]

Bill your imputs are always of value because you are blazing a trail that any one of us may someday have to follow. Your success will be a victory for all of us to celabrate.
"YARC" Panda

NEBill, we are cheering for you for sure. Your journey is a fantastic learning opportunity you are providing for your children.

Yep, I'm of the generation of outside at dawn, home for supper then home by streetlights. We were raised by folks on our street. If we did something out of line, they did not wait to tell our parents, they reprimanded then called home and we got reprimanded again. We felt safe, we were safer.

Being in phys ed in the beginning years, and very physically active until the kids needed the Mom taxi had me getting my guys involved in activity early. Gymnastics was convenient here so lucky them they managed that and team competition. We were also fortunate to have our gym very conscious of the need to train their gymnasts on the benefits of nutrition and our guys got additoinal training about healthy eating and lifestyle choices there as well as home. They competed until they were 16. Soccer was the eventual love of DS#1 while DS #2 did not find an alternative sport. We almost always provided home meals even on the go if need be in the car on the way to/from the gym. Not to say they were deprived of fast foods. DS#2 was the french fry king. They got their share of fast foods, just not every day.

My GF, also in phys ed. required her 2 DDs to engage in some active sport each summer which they had to finish even if they decided they did not care for it. They were required to participate in school activities too. Her DDs are now ver model-esque and very capable of making thier own choices (a good benefit/outcome of competitive sports too.)

DH was alsway overweight from an overweight family. His activity was piano, good pianist, but not much running or such as a kid. He did some active play but was always difficult as a child.

It is sad, and a difficult battle these days for sure.

 

[windwalker]

Lily I tried to get the ToT changed to 18 min per mile agin but it looks as though I have lost the battle. Tell Ted I'm sorry I gave it my best shot. Their answer was that the 16 min per mile pace was in line with all the other races so they were going to keep it there.

I hope we see you both at the event anyway, maybe with the effort we made they will be a little more understanding about actually enforceing the limit.

"YARC" Panda

 

[Cruella de mom]

I still tell my kids to get outside and play. Should I worry that I am going to be sited for child abuse?!

I take them to the trails to ride their bikes or roller blade beside me. Or sometimes we just for a hike in the woods. I make sure they are in team sports not just for exercise but because they should learn to be a team player. I serve my kids fruit for snacks and vegtables for dinner. Sometimes their friends tell me that they have never seen "this kind of Vegtable" (asparagus and brussel sprouts are usually the ones singled out.) Dh and I try to set a good example by making exercise a priority in our own lives.

Then my kids go to their friends houses and drink choclate milk and eat twinkies and watch endless hours of tv before having pizza and coke for dinner.

Therefore, I call myself Cruella de mom.

Bill - If your kids see you trying to overcome, you are giving them the best life lesson there is: No matter where you are or what life has given you, YOU can be in control of your own destiny. Too many kids today only see adults that give up.

 

[Steffwalks]

My kids grew up hearing, "Get yourselves outside and play. The TV is not your best friend, go find a person to be your best friend!" I didn't let video games into my house because my DS was not one to move if he could help it. I swear, me and the doctor thought he was dead because he absolutely quit moving the last month of my pregnancy! He was a couch potato from the very beginning. By the time he was old enough to hold any kind of job, I made him work because he wouldn't stir from the couch all day! He had high blood pressure by the time he was 18. He does, however, have a really strong work ethic!

So, I guess obesity is not a simple answer. Through the centuries, the elite of the population tended to be overweight and even obese because they had labor saving devises (slaves and servants) and the money to eat whatever and however they desired. I think the same thing is true, now. It is easier to pop the top on a can of soda than it is to get a glass down and turn on the faucet and wait for the glass to fill with water, and then have to find a way to clean the glass! It is easier to call the pizza place than to make a pizza. And it is way easier to feed your kids a pizza so they don't gripe than to feed them a the full meal deal with veggies and everything like we ate as kids. There was a recent questionaire of parents of school age children and the parents didn't know the basic principles of good nutrition! How can we expect our youngest to know that a hamburger, french fries and soda isn't a nutritionally meal when their parents don't seem to know??? No wonder it's whole families who are obese.

 

[JustSmile]

My parents (okay, mostly my mom) would tell us, "Get out of the house! You are not spending the day in here. It's too nice outside."

Anyone else have parents who told them to go out and play? Do parents still do this, or is it a reportable offense?

As a mom of four young boys, I say this all the time. My oldest and youngest try to get out any chance they get. My two middle guys like to play inside. Although, when I say, "Go outside" they know not to back talk. And, once they get outside, they have fun. We live in a nice neighborhood and 2 years ago the trustees decided that we(about 14 families) should not be allowed to have basketball poles on our driveways. They claimed that it violated the indentures. We're talking "nice" basketball poles. I made it clear to everyone I knew that in a nation where obesity is epidemic and kids do not go outside enough, that it would take an act of congress to make me take that pole down. I said that it violated my families rights to live a healthier lifestyle. Guess what? Our basketball pole is still standing and the subdivision decided to drop their pursuit of charging all of us for violating the indentures. Hooray!!! We try very hard to keep our kids active. Sometimes we do a great job, other times we fail, but we keep trying. We take the kids on long river walks and hikes in the woods. We limit video game and TV time. I provide healthy dinners and we allow ourselves 1 dinner out a week. I know that you didn't ask for my life story -----I'm just a mom trying to raise my kidlets the best way I know how and really......I'm just teaching them everything my mom and dad taught me.

 

[ms.mightyduck]

As a mom of four young boys, I say this all the time. My oldest and youngest try to get out any chance they get. My two middle guys like to play inside. Although, when I say, "Go outside" they know not to back talk. And, once they get outside, they have fun. We live in a nice neighborhood and 2 years ago the trustees decided that we(about 14 families) should not be allowed to have basketball poles on our driveways. They claimed that it violated the indentures. We're talking "nice" basketball poles. I made it clear to everyone I knew that in a nation where obesity is epidemic and kids do not go outside enough, that it would take an act of congress to make me take that pole down. I said that it violated my families rights to live a healthier lifestyle. Guess what? Our basketball pole is still standing and the subdivision decided to drop their pursuit of charging all of us for violating the indentures. Hooray!!! We try very hard to keep our kids active. Sometimes we do a great job, other times we fail, but we keep trying. We take the kids on long river walks and hikes in the woods. We limit video game and TV time. I provide healthy dinners and we allow ourselves 1 dinner out a week. I know that you didn't ask for my life story -----I'm just a mom trying to raise my kidlets the best way I know how and really......I'm just teaching them everything my mom and dad taught me.

It's nice to know that this concept still exists. I have one brother and growing up, my parents let us choose one program each to watch. Just one. And we didn't get to watch every night, but we had family tv time. My parents sat in the room and watched with us. I always picked Muppets. My brother would pick Dukes of Hazzard and A-Team (I tried to argue that he actually got extra picks because he also liked the Muppets and I HATED his shows; the supreme parental court would not even hear the appeal on this one).

My brother has serious knee problems from getting hit by a car a couple years ago (he was a grown up--a woman ran into him to get a parking space ), so he's not as active as he was. We grew up ice skating when the lake froze or riding our bikes or swimming, and he played a lot of roller hockey [off-topic warning to parents: do not buy teen boys "discount" in-line skates at the department store--his wheels broke mid-stride and nearly killed him].

I hate exercise now, but I like "doing things." So (prior to January when I joined the WISH team), I wouldn't workout, but I would go hiking in the upcountry in SC. I wouldn't use a treadmill, but I would take pilates classes. I wouldn't do my weight-training, but I'll go trail walking along the coast.

I like the idea of doing stuff as a family. It's probably more fun that way.

And good for you not letting them make you take down your basketball net!

 

[windwalker]

Tracy that is just awesome, YAY for you mom, we need more moms to take charge. You wouldn't run for president instead of Hillary would you?

"YARC" Panda

 

[princessrunner]

I too am a mom guilty of kicking the kids out of the house. We do not have video games in the house nor do my kids have TVs in their rooms. We have 1 central family computer (although the school have given DD a computer for the year and this has been a battle). I also limit my DDs texting which is another whole issue. My kids are active and I try to provide a role model to show them that exercise does fit into your life and you do it for fun not as work or punishment.

When I was a kid, I was always thin (fast metabolism, hence my always being warm too) and always active. I disliked being inside and would be outside by choice. I lived on a country road 3 miles out of town. We rode bikes, rollerskated and even played in the road with chalk. You cannot do this anymore anywhere around here. I am afraid to let my kids ride bikes alone on the road. We have 2 registered sex offenders that live about 2-3 miles further up on the road. It is not the same world that we grew up in. Safety is an issue for today's kids. My kidlets are involved in organized sports and we encourage this. I take the kids biking, hiking, skiing, snow shoeing and anything else we can think up!!

Also, when I was a kid, my mom cooked out of a box. There was nothing home made in my house. Chips, soda, yep we had it all. My eating habits were not pristine by any means. As I became an adult and weight started being an issue, I turned to body building but never changed my eating habits. Since meeting my DH and finding his family, I have discovered that home made is the way to go and exercise is where its at. We have a garden that feeds us during the summer months and, yes, I can and freeze veggies. We raise our own beef so we know what we are eating. I also make all our breads, granola and snack bars. I am proud to say that DDs softball team requests the bars for EVERY tournament.

So, I was lucky through my childhood that I did not become overweight. I did become overweight in my early 20s, lost it all, again in my 30s and am proud to say I am back on the wagon and do not intend to fall off again. I do not want this for my children. I teach them portion control, proper balance in eating and that it is okay to eat bad once in awhile as long as you keep it under control. I want them to be happy, healthy and active and I want them to pass this along to their children. I think we should all try to create this legacy for ourselves and our families!!!

 

[JustSmile]

Tracy that is just awesome, YAY for you mom, we need more moms to take charge. You wouldn't run for president instead of Hillary would you?

"YARC" Panda

Thanks for your support! I'm a little too happy go lucky to make any real decisions and.....I think my boys would ruin the White House.