Being fat is as bad as smoking

I’ve been fat.

I’ve smoked.

Yes, I do use the “F” word here ‘cuz, grrl, you may be big and beautiful, pleasingly plump, curvy, voluptuous, or large and lovely but you are still fat.

Being overweight is going to slow you down.  It’s the padding on your hips and belly that can be a harbinger of obesity.  Middle age spread is real.  The average weight gain after the age of 40 is a pound a year.  And, boy, is it a lot harder to lose!

And it isn’t all necessarily due to your hormones either.  It’s lifestyle.  Moving less.  Eating the same amount of pulled pork and potato chips you did even ten years ago.  Hell, I used to eat a pint of coffee Haagen Dazs in a single sitting twenty years ago.  Now,  if I eat a 1/4 cup serving of Cherry Garcia, I might as well spread it on my thighs with a spatula if I don’t go for a run the next day.

Then, as aging progresses, muscles get replaced with more fat.  Metabolism slows.  You continue to eat too much for your aging, changing body and fail to exercise and one day–BAM!–you’re fat.

Being fat sucks…

And it can lead to diabetes, clogged arteries, high blood pressure, heart failure, asthma, sleep apnea, GERD, incontinence (Kegel!), joint disease, gall stones, fatty liver disease, birth defects, miscarriage and all SORTS of different types of cancer.

According to the CDC, over 2/3rds of us Americans are overweight/obese.  That’s 200 million…wow.  It is the most prevalent chronic health concern and will become the most taxing on the U.S. health care system.

Smoking sucks…

In the U.S. today, the CDC says that 46 million of us adults smoke.

And here we go with the list of shitty health effects of smoking:  clogged arteries, high blood pressure, heart failure, asthma, sleep apnea, GERD,  birth defects, miscarriage and all SORTS of cancer.

Savvy?  The same shit, different road.

Body Mass Index

Now this is where the rubber meets the road. The big ‘O.’  No, not orgasm…obesity.  It’s really not hard to become obese.  The best way to discover your fat status is by calculating your Body Mass Index (BMI).  The National Institute of Health has a helpful one here…

Now, let’s get something straight…I’m a feminist.  It is crucial to stomp out size-ism, especially toward women who are bombarded with images of unattainable, unhealthy skinny everywhere.  A woman’s self worth should never be measured by her pant size.  I applaud every heavy gal who feels great gobs of esteem for herself and her appearance,

I, too, for a few short years, was five foot two inches of obese.  My esteem did not waver.  However, my health did.  I lost the weight so I didn’t lose my health going into menopausal years.

This is not a how to lose weight post…

This is not a how to stop smoking post…

This is not a biology lesson on how diabetes works when you are fat…

It’s an invitation.

A wake-up call.

A friendly reminder.

A shake-you-by-the-shoulders and look-you-straight-in-the-eye to tell you that having too much adipose tissue on your ass can be as bad for you as smoking is.

How are your knees feeling these days?  How does a flight of stairs treat you?  Cholesterol creeping up?  Getting more heart burn?

You know what to do…you don’t need me to tell you to:

Eat right.

Exercise.

Stress less.

Sleep better.

Always be outrageous.

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