[CHANGES] Groups, Rolling Class & Motivation

[Sandra Ahten]

3 THINGS:
ONE -- My Reasonable Diet Groups
TWO -- I'm taking a "body rolling" class next Saturday. Want to join 
me?(Especially those with chronic pain.)
THREE -- Motivational Message: "The Crunch Generation"
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ONE
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Last week I gave a talk to a woman’s club in Champaign. After the talk, 
several women told me that they were on (this)“Changes” email list. One 
proceeded to tell me that she was going to re-join WW soon, but that she was 
reluctant. “I liked when you were a leader. I liked your enthusiasm, and 
ideas.”

I am missing the boat! Somehow I am not conveying to you readers– that you 
do not need to join other weight loss programs. You can get everything you 
need to lose weight from me. (Well, almost everything!   : )

So,  I’m going to tell you straight out. Do not join other weight loss 
programs. If you are ready to lose weight (or at least ready-to-be-ready)  
join my Reasonable Diet groups.

You will get A.I.M:

ACCOUNTABILITY  -- Yes, we have a scale. Yes, I record your weight each 
week.

INFORMATION  -- Yes, I can teach you to count calories, or any other thing 
you need/ want to count. Yes, we all share recipes, journaling hints, 
eating-out tips, etc.

MOTIVATION  -- This is what you really need!! You need to find a reason to 
make the hard decisions that come with weight loss. You need to get tuned in 
and turned on to the pleasures of being fit and healthy.

The Reasonable Diet groups are affordable. ($120 for 10 weeks) and you get 
so much more personal attention and information that specifically fits your 
needs and lifestyle. If you are not satisfied after five weeks --  I’ll 
refund all of your money. http://www.reasonablediet.com/

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TWO
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Come learn Yamuna Body Rolling in a hands on,guided workshop by certified 
instructor, Janice
Rutherford of At Ease Body Therapies.   Body Rolling is an indispensable 
self-massage
routine for releaseing tight muscles and pain throughout the body. This 
workshop focuses on the
gentle touch needed for sufferers of chronic pain and fibromyalgia.

March 25th,2:00 - 4:30 PM at the University YMCA on Wright Street and 
Chalmers. Fee is $50 ($45 if you mention this email). Body rolling balls and 
books are available for purchase. Call 355-3114 to register. Learn more 
about the technique at www.yamunabodyrolling.com.

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THREE
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Dieting is Hard for the “Crunch Generation”
By: Sandra Ahten, copyright 2006

It is certainly a fact that as a society we are a dysfunctional mess with 
regard to our weight. I call my theory, as to what has caused and 
perpetuates this mess, being of the “crunch generation.”

Throughout human evolutional history our bodies have worked to become 
efficient fat-storing machines in order to prepare for long winters and 
famines. Ours is the first generation that is caught squarely between the 
efficiency that nature has achieved and a society where, as we live within 
the norms, that efficiency is diametrically opposed to what is good for us. 
Hence, “the crunch.”

Consider these examples.

1) We don’t have to lift a finger for our food. No gardening, no hunting, no 
gathering. Often, not one smidgen of physical energy has to be expended for 
food. If we didn’t schedule exercise into our day, many of us would go weeks 
doing nothing more than walking to the car. Yep, sedentary lifestyle is a 
term coined for us.

2) As a society, we are the first generation to live with such amazing 
abundance. Just think about the workplace. In your parents’ generation how 
many people faced daily donuts, weekly potlucks, miles of vending machines, 
breakfast meetings and royally served conferences?

3) Of course, there are poor and hungry people in our society too. But, the 
poor are often overweight also – and with a special set of challenging 
circumstances. Unless a person has the experience or education, and the time 
required, for extensive planning and preparation, it costs more to eat 
health food than to eat junk food. This was less true when the family garden 
and backyard livestock was the norm.

3) We have less and less time to prepare our own food. If you think this 
doesn’t make a difference, you have never worked in a restaurant and watched 
a chef slather toast with a two inch brush dipped in melted butter.

4) We are hardwired to get comfort from food. After all, most of us received 
our first dose of love/food at our mother’s breast. While humans have 
probably always comforted themselves with food, there has never before been 
a constant onslaught of readily available, new and more exciting ways to 
consume sugar and fat.

5) We are an incredibly stressed society. Yes, to alleviate the stress, we 
could go for a walk, listen to birds, paint a picture, talk to a friend, 
soak in a bath or meditate. But these all take time – and if we are 
reluctantly adding them to our schedules, the extra line item on our 
calendars actually creates more stress for us. So instead, we find it is 
easier to turn to the instant fix of food -- after all, we have to eat 
anyway, and (bonus!) we can multitask while we are eating.

6) Food is marketed like never before. If you watch much television you will 
soon be associating food with good times, feeling sexy and friendship. Food 
companies pay the big money for advertising because it works.

Yes, we are the “crunch generation.” These circumstances are being woven 
into the structure of our lives. The next generation will have the added 
burden of having been overweight as children.

The conditions of being of the “crunch generation” make eating healthy and 
maintaining a healthy weight difficult. It has created the need for most of 
us to be on a diet -- if dieting means teaching ourselves to eat differently 
than the rest of society.

But it is challenging. So, don’t bother chastising yourself for not having 
kept off previously lost weight. Don’t trivialize any effort you may be 
making. Give yourself credit for every effort. You are bucking the trends of 
society and the laws of nature. Expect that you’ll have setbacks. Expect 
that you’ll need help and education. Get support. Take steps.

It is up to us as individuals to be less sedentary; to not buy into the 
necessity of an overly fast-paced life; to reconnect with our kitchens and 
learn to prepare healthy food; and to turn off the television. Society will 
change only as we, as individuals, make these changes to our lives.


Hoping for peace in the world and wishing you peace of mind,
Sandra