I think most people WANT to be healthy.
I feel like that’s a decent, non-controversial assumption to work from.
“Most people, on the whole, WANT to be healthy.”
But I don’t know if you’ve noticed lately -- but being healthy… it’s kinda hard.
So hey -- I’m here to tell you… if you feel that way --- you’re not alone.
I mean, let’s face it: it’s kinda tough to fit in a workout when you work a 9-5, and on top of that -- you sit at a friggen desk all day. I mean, you either get it in before work (you’re tired) or after work (you’re exhausted) and it’s even harder if you have a family who wants you to be home and present after work. (Which is a totally reasonable request).
It’s kinda tough to eat healthy when you’re on the road and the healthiest thing you could grab at the gas station is a pack of nuts that cost like $5. Or you’re at an airport and a decent salad sets you back like $13.50 -- yet you could buy like 17 things at Arby’s for about HALF that price.
It’s kinda tough to bike to work, if you’re gonna sweat on your way in and your workplace doesn’t have a shower and you don’t wanna smell all day (especially for your 9 AM meeting with “Hot Kevin”...........).
Kinda tough to fit in a work out in (let alone LUNCH) when you stay at home with 3 kids and they’re constantly tugging on your arm for attention or to play Paw Patrol with them.
Kinda tough to make sure your kids get enough physical activity when they just slashed recess time at school AND/OR if you don’t have greenspace, a lawn, or a (safe?) playground nearby to let them run around in AND/OR the local rec league is too expensive to put your kids in.
Sure. You can make it work. You definitely can.
You can wake up at 5:00 AM to hit the gym, right when your day starts. You can fork over $5 for the nuts at the gas station (while your co-pilot mows a big bag of Cheetos). You can sit through the workday semi-smelly because you’re committed to biking to work, even though you have no decent place to change or shower when you get there. You could buy a set of free weights, download a 20 min HIIT workout online, and get a quick sweat in while the kids are napping. You could clear your schedule to attend a PTA meeting and advocate for bringing recess back because your kid is going bonkers in class and having disciplinary issues, or you could drive 20 min to get them to a safe, semi-decent park to play at.
You can do it. You can persist. You can make it work. You absolutely can.
The question is… should it really be THIS hard?
Truth is, currently, if you wanna be healthy… for the most part... you gotta REALLY want it.
You gotta wake up earlier. You gotta plan. You gotta pack lunches. You gotta spend more money on food. You gotta spend more money on rec leagues. You gotta be organized. You gotta prepare.
You gotta really want it. Strive for it. Plan for it. Work for it.
Because more often than not, unfortunately, it’s way easier to make the UNhealthy choice, than it is to make the HEALTHY choice.
And for the record -- the answer to your question is: “NO -- IT SHOUDN’T BE THIS FRIGGEN HARD.”
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We’ve been at this for decades now. Trying to fix this problem. “Cure the obesity epidemic.”
People KNOW they should be moving more. But they don’t.
People KNOW they should be eating healthier. But they aren’t.
So what gives?
This clearly isn’t a knowledge problem.
People KNOW that carrots are healthier than chips or a Snickers bar. (Come on… .let’s give people some more credit here…)
And good God -- people know they should move their body once or twice a day. But they don’t. They aren’t.
Which brings me to my next point...
The big debate that’s been going on for decades is whether or not this is a “personal responsibility” thing or a “built environment” thing.
Basically -- is it your health a product of the choices you, as an individual, make (personal responsibility) OR does your environment significantly shape the options you have in the first place to pick from, ultimately shaping your overall health (built environment).
So which is it? Personal responsibility or the environment?
The truth is -- it’s both.
It’s totally both.
It’s on you to make good, healthy choices, for sure, but the environment or situation you find yourself in, undoubtedly has a MAJOR impact on the choices you’re offered IN THE FIRST PLACE.
I mean, I can choose between A, B, or C -- if those are my options.
But maybe you only have choices A and B in front of you, and C isn't an option - you can’t choose C.
It doesn’t really matter if I educate you or plead with you to choose option C -- if it’s really tough to access, way more expensive, or not even available within the range of choices you have… my efforts are a GIGANTIC waste of time.
The point is -- sure you have choices, but those choices are significantly narrowed by the environment or the situation you find yourself in.
Because our environments… our situations… shape the choices we have in the first place.
And right now, the environment around us is unfortunately structured so that the healthy choice, is, in most cases, the harder choice to make.
Right now… unfortunately...the healthy choice is not the easy choice…
YET.
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Right now, tides are turning and change is brewing.
Truth is, there’s a lot of passionate, smart people working hard to make sure you have MORE healthy options, or to ensure that choosing a healthy option (IF YOU WANT) is accessible, available, and affordable for you -- and for ALL people in this country.
When I got into this work, I was super gung-ho about persuading people to eat healthier and get move more. Bright-eyed, eager, and ready to do the work trying to convince people that the grass IS really green on the healthier side. And for the record -- I still am that person. I will still sit with you for 3 hours and talk your ear off about all the benefits of eating better and moving more, or the latest and greatest fitness and food trends. But my perspective has evolved a lot over the last 5-ish years, through my formal education and from work in the field. Truth is, I can sit and plead with you to eat healthier and move more but the reality is, for so many in this country, some of these choices just simply aren’t available to you -- AND EVEN IF THEY ARE… they’re still pretty tough to make.
Hell, I have 20 years of experience in sport and fitness, 15 in food and nutrition, a masters degree in this shit and I STILL STRUGGLE to make healthy choices day in and day out, because for the most part -- the odds are kinda stacked against us.
But things are changing. They are! Due to the crazy hard work of a lot of passionate people who are committed to making sure it’s easier to be healthy, by shaping the environments you have to make these decisions in constantly. At work. At school. At the park. At the grocery store. The gas station. At airports. At home.
We’re working to shift attitudes and social norms. We’re workin to shape environments in which you make choices, so it’s just not so goddamn hard to be healthy, if you want.
The fact of the matter is that making healthy choices is both a combination of “personal responsibility” (you choosing to make a healthy choice) and also the environment that you live, learn, work, and play in. But the environment is the first factor in shaping what options you have the “personal responsibility” to choose from in the first place. So we’re workin on THAT level. That macro level. Making sure that the healthy choice is at least on par with -- as affordable, as accessible, as available as all these unhealthy choices that we’re currently surrounded by.
So what can YOU do?
There’s a lot, actually. By far, the single greatest, biggest, most important thing you can possibly to do make an impact is to use your platform, your privilege, your resources to show support for the people, products, and companies who are using their platform to make a positive difference in the world or support the values that YOU stand for. The biggest forms of leverage you have in this arena is with your ATTENTION and your RESOURCES. What are you paying attention to? What are you showing love for? Where and with whom are you spending your money? Make no mistake -- eating is a political act. You “vote” with your folk every single day. So cast that vote in a way that represents your values and the world you wanna live in. (More on this in later posts!)
Hey. I’m not sayin this is perfect. Cuz it’s not. We have a long way to go. And progress is never as fast as I want it to be.
But change IS happening.
All over the state. All over this country.
The future is bright.
And it’s effing healthy.
xoxo
Lauren
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