LOSING WEIGHT

Some time ago, I was eating a bag of chips and reading an article that reported that obesity has become a North American epidemic affecting 1 in 5 individuals. That’s really good news for the $50 billion-a-year weight loss industry – but really bad news for the makers of spandex bicycle shorts.

It has been estimated that as many as 34% of Canadian men, and 23% of Canadian woman are overweight. Judging by my time spent at the beach this summer, these figures are somewhat conservative. But as hefty as those figures sound, it is not all bad news at least from a comparative point of view, our geographical neighbors have tighter fitting pants than we do. Recent research found that 50% of Americans are overweight, while 22% are obese. The country whose primary contribution to modern culture has been the perfection of the ‘all you can eat buffet’ has literally got a larger problem than us.

I am no Dr. Phil but my theory is that a big part of the problem is that it has become impossible to eat a healthy diet – life is now too busy to read labels, research ingredients and prepare healthy dinners. In my house, very little effort is put into ensuring that all four-food groups are adequately represented on a plate. For me, dinner prep consists of a debate on whether to order in Chinese, pizza, or just reheat that half a grilled cheese lodged somewhere beneath the couch cushions.

Having said all that I must admit I find myself in the percentage of men who could lose a few. Thankfully, my situation is not yet hopeless, that is to say I am not restricted to my bed and forced to bathe myself with a rag on a stick but my jeans are ‘relaxed fit’, my shirts are oversized and watching TV is far more comfortable with the pants undone with the zipper down farther than it was ever intended to go.

Like millions of other portly folks, it’s not like I haven’t tried to deal with the problem. I purchased a Bowflex that has become a $2500 clothesline and I have a stationary bike that continues to be so carefully preserved in its originally packaging, one would think it was some sort of heirloom that I am hoping one day to pass onto my children.

I have tried many different diets, the high protein diet, low protein diet, high carb diet, low carb diet, the zone, the no zone, and even took a shot at becoming a vegan. Like many others, I met with marginal success and my venture into these diets remains one of the worst weeks I can remember. My main diet now involves refusing the option to Super Size - though admittedly, I have been yet not been able to do that.

Despite the difficulty in striving for a healthier lifestyle, I realize the time has come for people like me to take the weight issue more seriously and the way I see it, if we are going to feel better about ourselves we have two options. The first is to move to America where, there is a good chance our few extra pounds would be lost in the land of the $3.99 buffet and by comparison we may even be considered gangly. The second is to address the problem head on and make the commitment to a more healthy life by combining a mixture of proper diet and exercise.

I am going to miss Canada.

Mike Harwood