This Country is in Awful Shape

Awful.

                I went to the beach the other day and I was shocked at how bad shape the people were in there.  It got me thinking about how bad this country is fitness wise, and what an odd status that goes along with it.  If someone smokes, you can tell them to knock it off.  If someone drinks, you can tell them they’re hurting themselves and others.  But if you’re killing yourself with food, are obese, and in awful shape, you can’t say anything to that person about it without being considered offensive.   It’s baffling.  Being out of shape, suffering adult-onset diabetes, and being overweight run in families, and it’s NOT mostly because of genetics.   Like second-hand smoke poisoning those around you, children learn their eating and fitness habits from parents and pattern themselves after them.   Yet somehow if you talk to someone about getting in better shape you’re the asshole, not the person that’s teaching their children how to kill themselves with food and degrade their quality of life.   Our generation is potentially the first in centuries that will have a shorter life-span than the previous.  Amazing.

                The other part that pisses me off is seemingly every time someone makes a comment about working out, or comments that I’m in good shape it’s backhanded; “Oh I wish I had the kind of time to work out”.  I hear variations of that constantly.   My blood absolutely boils every time some smug asshole drops that one.   There are people at my gym who are surgeons, lawyers, a rabbi even.  Most of them work 60+ hours per week, have families, work with or run charities…and they all manage to workout at least three or four days per week.   Last year I was working 40-48 hours per week, taking five classes per semester,  making sure I slept at least 8 hours per night, hung out with friends 3 or 4 days per week, and I still had the time to make it to the gym 6 or 7 days per week.  There is absolutely no excuse for anyone to not be doing something to improve their health. Look, there is virtually nothing better you can do.   If someone watches garbage television like CSI or American Idol, they have plenty of time to work out.  Seriously, you don’t even need 6 days per week for an hour and a half each time.   Take a half hour 3 days per week and you could probably be in better shape than you have ever been in your life.  Combine that with putting the soda down, cut out anything with corn syrup or high fructose corn syrup in it, stop eating out as much, and eliminate garbage breakfast cereals, and that’d solve 50% of the problem right there.   

There’s also the fact that I sure as hell don’t want to be paying for someone’s diabetes medication when you can’t work by 50 and have to go on government aid.   I’m also worried that as this country devolves into slovenliness that it’s going to be harder and harder for my children and friends that actually give a damn to find decent food to eat.  I’m worried that living a healthy lifestyle is going to be frowned on, or even impossible in the future as our national obesity rate continue its’ inevitable march towards 50%, and the trillions of dollars that are going to have to go to healthcare for caring for these slobs.    The attitude already is if you're in good shape you're a 'health nut'. "OH you are SUCH a health nut.....you won't even funnel this 1/2 gallon of high fructose corn syrup. What a buzz kill. It's cool killing myself slowly and using food as a replacement for the fulfillment that I don't get from the rest of my vapid self-centered life".

So please, stop making excuses, acting entitled, and bitching about your weight/blood pressure/self-inflicted diabetes  and either go die in a corner silently somewhere, or DO SOMETHING to help yourself.