Being overweight isn’t all that bad sometimes. When you’ve gone from being rather obese to less obese or just overweight, you sometimes feel like you’re almost skinny! You forget that you still have quite a few pounds on you that aren’t supposed to be there. I find this happening to myself a lot. I feel so much better than I used to that I forget there is a whole different level to reach that would feel even better. This week I’ve thought about this concept a lot.

The Long Term Consequences of Obesity

My mom’s husband was rushed to the hospital in an ambulance Monday night because of chest pains. It was a scary experience for both of them, but luckily he is okay and was released last night. However, the experience has given me a sort of scared-straight feeling. He recently has gained a lot of weight and has always dealt with being overweight. Recently the extra weight has been causing lot of health problems and complications. While I’ve been scared for him and praying for his recovery, it’s also made me think a lot about the consequences of carrying extra weight.

At first being overweight doesn’t have a lot of health consequences. We can be obese as teens and young adults without it affecting us too much other than socially. But when we get older the health consequences come calling. Your joints start to hurt, you develop diseases like diabetes, and you have complications. The older you are, the bigger you are… the worse it is. It seems to make everything you have worse than it has to be.

The long term consequences of obesity aren’t something I think about often because I’m young. I’m decades away from that! I don’t need to consider it! But really? I’m not getting younger. The affects are cumulative. Sure, I’ve lost a nice chunk of weight and improved my health drastically over the last few years. But will that last bit of weight cause me problems? Will I suffer when I have kids? Will I end up with a metabolic disease I don’t want? Will I have problems later in life because of this extra weight? It doesn’t cause me problems right now but it’s definitely something that could come back to bite me in the butt.

Making A Change

Thinking about this all week has inspired me to DO SOMETHING.

I’ve felt really crappy this week because of eating out too much thanks to avoiding my kitchen. I am feeling puffy and generally have a blah feeling. I know that this feeling and the extra weight I haven’t take of yet aren’t a big deal right now…. but they will be. If this hangs around for a couple decades I’ll suffer long term consequences of obesity. I’ll admit that is really, really scary to think about.

When I remember the last time I felt really good it was after I did the Advocare 10 day cleanse. Sure there were some yucky parts of that experience (fiber drink!), but it was the last time I felt so good I felt amazing and unstoppable.
So with that memory in mind and reading some of the success stories from fellow bloggers (Shoutout to Janetha at Meals and Moves and Ashley at Coffee Cake and Cardio!), I decided to join Advocare as a wholesale member and get a discount on the 24 day challenge (and Spark, cause that stuff is my favorite and I ran out weeks ago).

If anyone wants to join me, feel free! You can get the 24 day challenge pack here. I’ve already talked some friends into doing it with me so I can have a big support group while doing it. If you just want to set yourself a goal without doing the Advocare part and join us for 24 days that would be good too. Anything to make a positive change in your life right NOW. Even with the discount it’s admittedly really expensive for a couple weeks of product and the frugal part of me cringed when I ordered. However, I’m investing in my health in the long run. It’s the final push. Thanks to everyone that reminded me recently that investing in your health is something worth doing. It will pay off years from now and that’s worth doing!