Tuesday, November 27, 2007

Musings

Today's Weigh-In: 225.4
5-day Average: 224.88

Well I seem to be squarely in the 225 range, which is okay. I was kind of discouraged at this, until I looked at my 5 day average a week ago, which was 227.07, so I'm actually down 2 pounds. I'm trying to shake the need for instant gratification, but it's so ingrained in us through media and culture that it's very hard to drown completely. That's the reason the diet industry is a multi-billion dollar venture, and America is still getting fatter. Everyone wants it now, but they don't want to work for it, which is like asking for all your groceries in one bag, but demanding that the bag not be heavy :-)

I've found that the people who have been successful, not only in losing weight, but in other ventures, are the people who are willing to put in the hard work and take the time to see the results. America used to be the land of hard work, industry, and pulling oneself up by the bootstraps. Now that sense of enterprise and pride in a job well done has been replaced with one of entitlement, laziness, and vanity. Scientists and social commentators bemoan the state of Americans with regards to obesity, and politicians and advocacy groups attempt to make policy changes to reduce the obesity rate, but it's done little good, because the sense of entitlement dooms it to failure. We need a cultural shift that will instill work ethic and determination in individuals, not this post-modern claptrap we've all grown up with. Unfortunately, I don't know how this will be accomplished, and we may be doomed to our fate already. The American dream may be dead to most, but not to me. I will live my life with my head held high, doing what I know must be done even though it is difficult.

Sorry for the rant, but it's something I wanted to get off my chest.

7 comments:

Ripx180 said...

lots of good points here. I definitely need to work harder in allot of aspects in my life. I realize I have a really good life but I also realize I have gotten soft and lazy. Thanks for the reminder.

Rob Tucker said...

You're absolutely right - sometimes you just need to let go of expectations, put your head down, and just barrel through with hard work and determination. In the long run, you'll be better for it. Great post.

Brent said...

And now Geoff finally agrees with his little brother :) Although it's hard, it's very much so worth it. In this specific aspect, you can already see the improvement. Now if you stay with it, you'll continue to improve your health and your self-image, resulting in improvements in many other parts of your life. Don't let yourself be one of those slaves of the media. Be yourself and be happy. Everybody gets down some time or another, so don't feel guilty for that, but your personality shines through when you decide to man up. Seriously, you're doing great so far and I'm proud that you're sticking with it. I had to laugh at your rant though because a couple of years ago, you would've just been another one of those people. I hate your high IQ though because your freaking rant sounds like the beginning of an anthro or sociology thesis :P Ah, well. Talk to you soon.

Geoff said...

To Brent: I've always felt that this was true, but I was unwilling to make the changes necessary in my life to live consistently with my internal beliefs.

You and I were raised by hard working parents and I think our mindset reflects this. These kinds of ideas need to be instilled in an individual when they are children, but unfortunately that isn't happening often enough nowadays.

Rob Tucker said...

Oh, I'm spamming you now. New forum for FAT :)

http://fatcoalition.makeforum.org/

Melissa said...

Great blog. I completely agree with you, and often have to ask myself why am I not seeing results on certain things I want to..because I have to work harder!

Have you taken measurements? Thats another great way to track your progress. I try to do that because sometimes the scale can control me!

Jim McCoy said...

Amen to that. The lack of work ethic in this country is quite frankly disgusting. All you can do is handle yourself though, and you're headed in the right direction. Just keep moving that way.