Before I get into the epidemic of Childhood Obesity, something roughly 20% of America’s children struggle with…
I want to give you a perspective from someone who struggled with and overcame Childhood Obesity.
Listen and feel his words, as you step into his shoes…
I recall when I was 10 years old, sitting on the cold sticky bench in my doctors examination room.
The boring white walls…the sound of other kids coughing in the adjacent rooms.
I can’t recall exactly why I was there, but I was sitting their waiting for the doctor to come back in the room…
When he entered, he briefly stated that I didn’t appear to have any significant illness to worry about.
Then he continued on, as he pulled out a chart.
He explained that it was a height/weight chart. He pointed to the middle of the chart and said,
“This is where a child at your height should be”…
Then he shifted his finger from the middle of the page to several inches off of the chart, beyond the upper right corner of the page.
I vividly recall his next words…
“This is where you are…I’m recommending you go on a 1200 calorie diet.”
I didn’t know what a ‘diet’ was, nor had I ever read a food label. Here I was 10 years old being told to ‘count my calories’.
Come to find out, my parents were not really sure how to assist me beyond counting to 1200 each day.
So I continued to eat the same crappy processed food I had been eating…like “Kid Cuisines”, breakfast cereal, etc. Only now I was “counting my calories”.
This worked for a while, as I tried to become more active.
I lost about 20 pounds over the course of 3-4 months. But my food choices and habits had never been addressed.
I eventually gained back every pound I had lost.
Over the next few years my weight fluctuated, depending on the time of year.
I stayed active in school athletics, so I’d lose weight during football and wrestling, but gain the rest of the year!
I had no guidance on how to eat. I had no clue how food affected my body.
No one told me there was so much more to it than “counting calories”.
I was never successful trying to count how much I ate!
No one could help me, because…No one else knew how to eat correctly either!
All I ever heard was “Eat less”…”Be more active”.
It wasn’t until I started using the internet around 14 years old, that I finally began to find different advice.
I stumbled upon some body building forums, where the discussion was more about what ‘type of food’ to eat; rather than the ‘how much you should eat’ info I was told to follow by my doctor!
Over time, I removed all liquid calories from my diet. I ate more protein. I ate less starchy carbohydrates.
It wasn’t a perfect diet, it was just simply much better than what I had been doing.
Miraculously, my body began to transform in ways it never had.
Belly Fat and weight I had struggled to defeat, suddenly began to melt away!
This experience taught me that I was on my own. That I had to take control of my own body.
No one could do it for me, because no one knew how.
It was then, I made a vow…A PROMISE to myself!…
I would never go back to the bodily prison I had escaped…
I decided to burn that prison to the ground…
I vowed to help everyone I could escape their own jail cells…
I would help others bury the ashes of their former prisons…
I would learn everything I could, experimenting on myself…
So others can live the lives they are meant to live…
With the FREEDOM of good health!
Now…Step out of his shoes…and back into your own!
How did his story make you feel?
Do you know anyone who may be living in a similar prison? [Begging to escape]
Perhaps, this story is similar to your own life?
If you are wondering who’s story this is, I’ll tell you…
It’s my story!
I was blessed to escape a lifetime imprisonment within my own body, and mind!
That’s what Childhood Obesity is…a prison!
I know exactly how it feels…
Fear of how others look at you…
Uncomfortable in a bathing suit…
Lack of confidence in social situations…
This mental wiring and thinking is difficult to overcome!
I struggled with the effects of this long after I defeated Childhood Obesity!
No one, and certainly NO CHILD!…should have to endure this!
Life is meant to be lived with freedom! Not locked away in a cell!
Childhood Obesity is an epidemic that must be stopped!
It start’s with us adults…
It’s time for us to educate ourselves and take control of our own health!
If you are a parent, I want to offer some advice that will help your child.
You are the one they look to first for help (they may not even understand they need help).
It’s time to fight for your child’s future. This is why you became a parent, right?
Here are 4 things you can do to help them:
1.) Educate yourself, so that you can educate your child
Please understand, if you do not know what to eat and what is ‘healthy’… you are not alone.
It is not your fault. We have been bombarded with clever advertising and misinformation.
Most people, and even many doctors, don’t fully understand the best ways to eat.
Ever since you and I were kids, we were blasted with clever commercials of leprechauns, tigers, and bunnies telling us that sugary cereal is part of a balanced breakfast (It’s Not).
We have been told that juice is the perfect way to start off the morning (It’s Not).
It is exactly these types of foods and brainwash marketing that is killing us and our children!
It’s time to fight back! It’s time to become more informed!
2.) Become an “example” for your children
Our kids are watching. The biggest influence in every child’s life is the parents.
They spend much of their time with you. They look up to you. They love and adore you.
They believe what you tell them, and they learn to follow your behaviors.
This is not a secret. It is a well established fact.
Start to work on your daily habits. Maybe removing sugary drinks (Juice, Sweet Tea, Soda, Gatorade) from your diet; then explain to them that this is one of the worst things you can put into your body.
You could join a gym, or simply devote 20-30 minutes of exercise in the evening at home.
They will notice this. They may even join in (My kids often join in with some body-weight squats).
You are the biggest example for you kids.
Let’s clear the runway, so they can fly to a life of prosperity and good health.
3.) Explain how food affects their body
This must occur over time. As you become more educated and begin making better choices, it is a good idea to share with them what you are learning. Learn together with them.
Explain that high sugar items with cartoon characters on them are not good for their health and that to grow big and strong they need to eat more whole foods.
I understand this doesn’t sound easy. I myself, have fallen into the same traps my own parents did (it wasn’t their fault though). We lead busy lives and it can be hard to eat perfect all the time.
This is not ‘All or Nothing’. This is about making the best choices we can over time, everyday.
Removing most of your processed food consumption, and sugary drinks will have a HUGE impact on you and your children’s health.
We don’t have to be perfect. We only need to do our best to be better everyday!
4.) Keep a long-term mindset!
The health and fitness arena is filled with ‘short-term’ mindsets.
“Lose 30 pounds in 30 days”…”6 Minute Abs”…”6 week boot camp”…
Sorry! There is no magic pill! YOU are the “Magic”!
You must do what you can to help yourself and your children for the rest of your life!
Being a parent is FOREVER! So is the pursuit of lifelong health and prosperity.
Focus on your daily habits as a family. Do it together! Go on hikes…Have FUN!
I’ll wrap it up with this:
There is a WAR against you and your children’s health. Companies fight to gain control of your children’s minds with clever advertising.
They understand that if they can get your child to beg for certain items, that you’ll give in and buy it.
They know if they can get them hooked as a child, they have a great shot at obtaining a ‘life-time’ customer.
This is how good advertising and business is designed to work…
It’s time to dress up for battle and equip your family to…
Win the War against Childhood Obesity!
If you don’t know where to start…
You are not alone. I didn’t know where to start 20 years ago. Many others I have met are deeply confused on how to eat better for themselves and their families.
Because of this, I wrote a simple guide book with my wife Jessica to help you!
This is the book our members get at Goins Strong Fitness, but we made it available to everyone…
This is the guide I wish my doctor would have handed me when I was 10 years old…
I know it will help any child or adult that reads it.
My goal is to help make the next generation of children the healthiest and strongest the world has ever seen…
If you are local to Dallas, NC and have a child struggling with weight…reach out and come see me!
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God Bless & Go Strong,
Bradley
