By: iportion

iportion — Mon, 28 Aug 2006 23:52:43 +0000

Yes I do have an event which lead to my being obese but at the time I was in no power to stop it. So maybe I was meant to go through what I did to help others.

By: Ernie

Ernie — Mon, 28 Aug 2006 18:15:36 +0000

Before answering your question of the week, I want to say that I don't regret. I'm not one to look back at my life and say, "I wish I had". I understand the need for a retrospective look at one's life, but to regret something that cannot be changed is a waste of energy.

Besides that, given that I love my life now it's difficult to want to change those things that made it what it is.

If you could change something in your past that has affected your weight and health, what would it be?

As far back as I can remember, I have been a dieter or, at least, I have been aware of my weight.

To make things easier, let's go ahead and define the periods in my life by which school I attended. I didn't attend that many schools, but there can be a well-defined line drawn between each experience.

If I go back just a little while, to college, I would have been more active. I would take up jogging or something and made it a priority. I would take classes in health and nutrition and apply what I learn to my life. I would lay off the caffiene. I would eat healthier, gaining a taste for that food then instead of waiting until now.

Back a little further and I'm in highschool. I was wooed by the various coaches in my highschool to be on their sports teams, be it football, wrestling, what have you. I declined them all and now I wonder what would be different if I hadn't. I would be a very different person and so many things would change in my life outside of just my health. I don't much like organized sports, but I don't know that I ever gave it a fair shake. I was also incredibly shy back then, so being on a field in front of crowds terrified me.

Go back a little more and there's elementary/middle school. The start of my poor eating habits. Somewhere in there, I equated food and happiness. It may have come from home. It may have been that one kid whose lunches were always better that mine and who picked and chose those he would share it with...with me being left out of that fold. It may have just been some trigger inside me. If I were there now, I would care less about food and just go play.

What are you doing right now that you could change that would make your future easier?

I'm eating better. Having now acquired the taste for healthier choices. I'm losing weight.

While the desire to get more active is still there, I continue to struggle with that aspect of myself. As an adult, there is no playground, no after-school activities. The one thing I didn't want to do here is make excuses, so I won't. Making time for a healthier lifestyle is a matter of priorities. It's a life changethat I hope I can still make.

I'm teaching my kids to eat right and making every effort not to equate food to love (or any emotion) for them. I want them to have the confidence to step out onto a field to play, remembering that it's play and that it's good for them all at once.

In short, I'm paying attention.

Comments on: Question of the Week: Turn Back Time

By: iportion

By: Ernie