Fuggedaboutit : One In 5 NYers Are Obese

A Syracuse Post-Standard story reveals that one in five of New York City residents are clinically obese and yet very few of them know it or will admit it.

City health officials say there are now over 1 million obese people residing in the New York City area, but a recent survey of those who are classified as obese found that 40 percent of them describe themselves as “very overweight,” but not obese.

The stigma that comes from being called “obese” must be THAT bad if a New Yorker doesn’t even want to be called one. Fuggedaboutit, I don’t have a problem. When I weighed 410 pounds, I knew I was a big guy, but I never stopped to think about whether I was obese or not. And yet everyone around me already knew.

When an overweight or obese person denies they have a serious weight problem, people think they are being irrational and cannot understand why they won’t just lose the weight. Since I’ve been there myself, I disagree with that thinking.

Instead, you have to know that there are a lot of emotional mind games that go on in the head of a person carrying around a lot of weight. The desire to lose weight is there, but that feeling of hopelessness sets in and causes people to rationalize away the size of their belly. I admit it. I did it, too!

But thankfully I was able to start living low-carb in 2004 and today I weigh 225 pounds. That weight didn’t come off without a little hard work and a desire to see myself improve physically, mentally, and spiritually. Those four in ten New Yorkers who deny they are “obese” have to reach the point where they want to lose weight so bad that nothing will stand in their way of success.

I spoke with a lady at one of my book signings on Friday who had about 10-15 health and weight loss books in her hand browsing through them. When I looked into her eyes, I could see this woman was at her breaking point. She was overweight and now was desperately seeking answers.

She noticed me signing my book and inquired about my weight loss. I told her about how the low-carb lifestyle changed my life and that it was arguably the easiest and best-tasting “diet” I had ever tried. As I shared my story of being a former obese man, tears began to well up in her eyes and she knew she found a kindred spirit who understood her pain.

Seeing her cry like she did, it was difficult to keep my own composure, but I did. I proudly shared with her all the changes that have happened to me because of the weight loss and that those things could happen to her, too! She thanked me for sharing my story and said she was seriously committed to doing this. I encouraged her to keep that attitude and she can’t help but be successful.

It shouldn’t surprise anyone that the New York City Health Commissioner Thomas Frieden would say that people who are obese need to eat less calories and exercise more.

“Obesity is directly related to getting too little physical activity and consuming too many calories,” Frieden commented. “Just 30 minutes of moderate physical activity most days of the week can literally save your life.”

Yes and no. Yes, you need to get the 30 minutes of exercise a day for your heart health and weight management. But no you don’t need to cut your calories to do it. As I lost my weight on the low-carb lifestyle, not once did I, have I, or will I ever count my fat grams, calories or portion control my food. The burden of doing that is lifted off of you so you don’t have to worry about it anymore. YOU’RE FREE!

But getting that heart rate up and making your body sweat is essential. Getting active in SOME way is the key and work your way up to longer workouts. Over one-fourth of the survey respondents said they are actively involved in some sort of physical activity for 120 minutes per week. That same survey showed nearly another one-fourth of respondents watch a minimum of FIVE HOURS of television per day.

Yikes! Whadyawanna bet they’re not watching workout videos? LOL!

Whether you live in New York, Los Angeles, Dallas, Miami, or anywhere in between, the first thing you need to do if you have a weight problem is admit it. Just admit it to yourself and resolve that you will commit to doing something about it. You don’t have to wait until January 1, 2006 to make this happen. You can do it NOW!

If you need some encouragement to begin this weight loss journey and see someone who overcame a lifetime of struggle. I poured my heart and soul into that book because I have been there and want to help others get out of the obesity hole once and for all. God bless you.

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