The Diet and Workout Paradox

For years, centuries even, the idea of dieting and working out has been apart of millions of peoples lives. Am I overweight? Am I too skinny? How do I lose this pesky stomach fat? have all been questions that the masses have desired answers to. With all of the different get in shape fast schemes people have fallen into a virtual gain-loss-gain weight paradox. Society has been content with accepting these fads and even pay millions of dollars each year to get the latest “loose 15 pounds in 15 days” diet from a so called expert. The so called expert Dr. Robert Atkins, whose diet has swept the country like a plague over the past five years, believe it or not died of a heart attack related to the diet that he so staunchly preached. When will someone stand up and demand that these pirates of the health and fitness industry be held accountable for what they are doing? How many more people will fall victim to these ridiculous diet and workouts shenanigans before something is done.

One would think that our government would step in and help regulate an industry of “backward ally dealers” and “sell their soul for a dollar” secret hand shakers. Well in a perfect world wishful thinking would prevail, but such is evidently not the case. Each year the government has cut food subsidies to public schools decreasing the overall quality and healthiness of government lunch programs. In a nationwide assessment, USDA found that the average lunch served in 1998-1999 met its dietary guidelines of fewer than 30% of total calories from fat and less than 10% from saturated fat in only one out of seven secondary schools (USDA, FNS 2001). With more then 30 % of children aged 6-19 being obese these findings were absolutely appalling and yet still, the government has done nothing.

When the nation is in a crisis or epic proportions, our government has failed us, and virtually every option has been exhausted what is the general population to do? The answer and saving grace has come in the form of online, user driven, health and fitness communities. Sites like emuscle.com and sparkpeople.com have understood the desperate need for information and content in the form of free diets, free workouts, and free articles that are unequivocally and irrecoverably free from the dirty right hand of the “mainstream” health and fitness industry. The sites have promoted the sharing of credible health and fitness ideas through a common medium; the will to be fit and healthy, and to see those around them do the same. In a time when our country is looked at as the gluttons of the world, it is a fresh breath of air to know that there are places for the common people to go to seek credible health and fitness advice. The old saying goes, “Our body is our temple”, well lets start taking better care of our temples!