"Dreams are today's answers to tomorrow's questions." - Edward Cayce
September 6, 2011
By Linda T. Gottlieb, MA, CPT, CET
Are you Dreaming?
Many Americans Are..... When they:
- Overestimate how much they move
- Underestimate how much they eat/drink
The result of this dream state is what you see every day in the news. Obesity is on the rise not only in adults but also in young children leading to significant negative health impacts. Obesity is also a potential factor in cancer recurrences in survivors.
So, you might think, "Not ME!" "I move A LOT during my day. Hey!" Running after the kids, running a life, running a business - it's ALL a contact sport! Research, sadly, proves otherwise. Most Americans walk less than ¾ of a mile daily, around 3,000 steps. To be considered active, you must walk a minimum of 10,000 steps most days. YIKES!
And your food and drink intake might be a dream, too. We forget about a cookie here and there, our liquid intake of calories (yes, the double shot Grande chai latte included) and that our caloric requirement lessens as we age... all significant contributors to a bigger you!
What's a person to do?
First, accept that this American Dream is real.
Second, use a measurement tool like a good quality step counter to get your baseline information and begin to increase your daily steps. It doesn't take much; just take 10% more than yesterday's steps.
Thirdly, log everything you eat or drink for a minimum of a week (weekend included) to get an honest view into your calorie intake reality.
Then it's easy to take 100-300 calories a day out (don't worry, you'll hardly notice!) of your day's diet. One less cookie, one less slice of bread, and two less bites of ice cream... you get the idea!
With these 3 simple consistent changes, you'll leave the bad dreams behind and improve the quality of your life, starting today.
For more information on the relationship between obesity and cancer visit:
http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Risk/obesity
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