I opened the paper this morning to find out that the country I live in has just taken the number one spot as the fattest country in the world. I don't know when it happened but just like a cupcake sneaking onto the hips, Canada has earned the title of having the largest obesity problem of 63 different countries in a recent survey by the American Heart Association. I wish I could say this was another American conspiracy theory but alas, its not.
To tell you the truth, I would have rather seen Canada in a number one spot in the Olympics, but I guess for now, this will be our claim to fame. It's baffling because as far as resources go, we have access to everything we could possibly need to stay fit. We have every tool we need to be healthy and vibrant. We have access to medicare, lots of money for food and gym memberships and plenty of leisure time to use it all, and yet our men have the largest waistlines short of the equator itself.
Maybe that is exactly the problem. We have it too easy. Nothing requires the effort that would suck a few inches off those thighs. While most countries are growing and picking their foods in the backyard and biking to work, we spend a couple hundred dollars on downtown parking and an expansive, oops, I mean expensive meal. We need to get back to basics and we need to do it fast.
We need to stop thinking that throwing money at fad diets and fancy machines will fix our problem of obesity. What we need to do is use our bodies the way they were intended to be used, for working. We need to stop consuming more than we need for optimum energy and performance and we need to GOYA.
What's GOYA, well it means Get Off Your, you can figure out the rest. Besides medical issues that are much more rare than the number of people that use it as an excuse, you only get obese by consuming too much and exercising too little. When you think about that statement, that tells me that a lot of people are wasting their lives standing on the sidelines doing little more than watching TV and stuffing their faces. That's sad.
It's sad because life is full of adventures to be had and they can't be experienced sitting on the couch. Getting out dancing, going to the beach for a swim, snowboarding in the winter and dirt biking in the summer. These are all things that make everyday of your life an experience worth the living. An adventure.
I was recently on a trip to Mexico where a 40 something couple had spent a couple of hundred dollars to do a tour of a remote town. Once we got there this couple sat outside the bus for a couple of hours until the tour was over because they got winded when they tried to walk the streets. I'm not talking crazy hills but normal rolling streets that the villagers walk every day. They wasted their money and didn't get to see some things that were a once in a lifetime opportunity.
I'm upset that Canada has taken the lead on this dubious title but my hope is that maybe it will be a wake up call. Don't stand on the sidelines any longer. Get out and live life to the fullest. Treat your body as your greatest asset and GOYA.
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