WIN Wyoming
Thought Bullets
for
January 2006
Let Their Voices Be Heard - Connections
This is the fourth and final article in a series on a newly released book entitled Let Their Voices Be Heard. The first three articles shared quotations in the areas of physical activity, food and eating, and body image. The passages for this month are from quotations that combine two or more of the areas.
“I’ve actually been thinking about . . . the secret to life. And it’s variety and moderation. Food and fitness, physical activity; everything has to deal with variety and moderation.” Male in his 20's
“I think that having a program that is livable is important, both with the [eating] and with the exercise; . . . if you’re not enjoying them, it’s pretty tough to stick with it.” Male in his 40's
“I know for a fact that if I limit what I eat and if I exercise more, it’s a definite decrease in weight, and it’s also an increase in energy.” Male in his 50's
“[After high school], I suddenly became a father. I tried to complete school and work at the same time. And it’s like I was distracted [from healthy eating and physical activity]. . . . Now I want to get back on track.” Male, early 30's
“I never liked working out in gyms. . . . The chickies . . . were all running around after these bodybuilder guys and you’d just kind of go, ‘Well, what am I doing here? I think I’ll go have a beer.’ ” Male in his 30's
“Show by example that you enjoy life. You enjoy food. You enjoy people of all shapes. And be positive to other people. Be happy. Talk kindly about everybody. Our children are watching us all the time.” Female, early 60's
“Once you get fat, it’s nearly impossible to get rid of it. . . . Once it’s there, it doesn’t go away. . . . And some [of my weight gain came from] bad eating habits, certainly.” Male, late 30's
“I thought that I needed to stay super, super skinny to [please] the person I was dating. . . . I wasn’t eating healthy. . . . And I think now . . . I . . . realize what healthy eating is and what you can do to stay healthy. . . . I guess it’s getting older and getting wiser.” Female, mid 20's
“The white, U.S. world has a real problem trying to accept their fatness because of all the media that you see. . . . And in fact, I think . . . [the media’s focus on a perfected body image] makes us fatter because we get . . . nervous and eat more.” Female, mid 40's
“I think a lot of people misunderstand that just because you may look healthy doesn’t mean that you are healthy. . . . If somebody’s body weight is heavy, then [people] think that person must overeat. Well, that’s not always the case.” Male in his 30's
“There are so many heavy people now . . . . They just come home and sit in front of the TV. . . . They’re couch potatoes and they’re very, very inactive. And not only that, the fast food business is doing a great business. . . . I think this is where it has changed, because you didn’t see as many heavy people back in the 1930s, ’40s, and ’50s.” Female in her 60's
“The media says you need to be skinny, and then exercise people come and say you need to exercise, and so it’s kind of like this guilt trip on you. . . . They say [being fat] is a health risk, too. . . . It probably makes it worse. It probably makes us eat more because it’s so hard to lose weight and so hard to exercise. Sometimes you just . . . give up.” Female, mid 40's
“If you live healthy and you exercise, you should be happy with who you are because everybody is different. . . . With exercise, there’s many things that it can help overcome physically, emotionally, and mentally. It’s a good tool to use to balance your life. . . . And then the body image, . . . if that’s healthy, then you’re going to be happier. . . . I think [exercise and healthy eating] elevate your self-worth . . . . Someone can withstand the challenges they face, and [they] may not have the illnesses they would otherwise have if they didn’t take better care of themselves.” Female in her 30's
“The failure rate [for diets] is like 90% for people who lose a lot of weight. People like me. They just get it all back. The failure rate is just staggering. . . . Just keep your kids away from the TV because it’s really an insidious influence, and I still watch too much TV. . . . It’s easy to plunk [kids] down there in front of the tube. . . . [TV] became such an important part of my life. When you’re kind of a loner, it’s a bizarre form of human contact. You feel like you’re a part of something. You’re not, of course, but you feel like you are. So, . . . it’s very easy to abuse TV. I still love sitting in front of the tube and having something to eat. . . . I love doing it. . . . I don’t even have a kitchen table in my house. . . . [In front of the TV] is just kind of where I grew up.” Male, late 30's
Source:
Holmes B, Pelican S, Vanden Heede F. Let Their Voices Be Heard - Quotations
from life stories related to physical activity, food and eating, and body image.
Discovery Association Publishing House. Chicago, IL. 2005.
Compiled by Betty Holmes, MS, RD, Senior University Extension Educator, University of Wyoming; bholmes@uwyo.edu