Hurry up and "weight"

I always liked the expression, “If something seems too good to be true, it probably is.” I like it because it is one of many expressions that prove to be true. We’ve all seen the commercials for the million dollar on-line business, the miracle weight loss pill, and the workout plan that is guaranteed to get us into shape in a matter of days. Truth is, short of winning the lottery and winning big money in Las Vegas, not many things in this world offer instant results and gratification. We usually have to work hard to get the things we want. Unfortunately, this also includes improving and maintaining our health.


A man recently tried to sue the fast food chain, McDonald’s because he claimed that they were responsible for his obesity and overall poor health. His lawsuit was dismissed because it was determined that he made a conscious, educated decision to consume fast food over a number of years resulting in his weight gain. Our society has become more and more spoiled over the years. Thanks to ever changing technology, we are used to getting information, directions, and addresses in the blink of an eye. We also want things to be this easy when it comes to our health. We want to take a pill, eat what we want, not exercise, and still expect to lose weight. Things don’t work that way in the real world. According Forbes.com, the United States is the ninth fattest country in the world with 74% of our population being obese. We would like to blame fast food chains and other food companies but ultimately the finger should point back at us. If we intend to be healthier and slimmer people, we can’t do it with a one day exercise program or a miracle pill. We need to change our lifestyles and stop blaming fast food chains and other food companies for our obesity.

We all know that the key to losing weight and improving our health is a sensible diet and plenty of exercise. However, we are either too lazy or too impatient to commit to this kind of routine. We like to eat things that are delicious and lounge on the couch in our spare time. We eat fast food because it satisfies two of our desires: it is very tasty and it is fast. As I stated before, technology has made us a very impatient society with the need for everything to be easily accessible in the shortest amount of time possible. This mentality is what directly affects our health. We treat our cars better than we treat our bodies. Until we maintain our bodies like we maintain our homes and our cars, we have no one to blame for our obesity but ourselves.

Obesity is a big problem in this country and it can be rectified by first examining how we live our lives. We need to stop putting the blame on places like McDonald’s and Burger King. They are only taking the money that we give them for food that we know is not good for us. Let’s take a look at ourselves and try to change our bad habits. Who knows, we may even be able to put McDonald’s out of business.