Fat to Fit? Just Teleport!

     "Beam me up, Scotty!"  Whether you are a fan of Star Trek or not, this has become one of those well know phrases.  I was never a big Star Trek fan but there was just something cool about the teleportation and how it could immediately get them from one place to another.  I really wished it existed when my family would take vacations that entailed driving several hours in the car and I still wish for it when we drive to Lake Tahoe (366 miles).  I find it interesting that when we are faced with a journey the first thing we consider is how will we get there.  We would never consider walking to Lake Tahoe unless we wanted a lot of exercise and the reality that it would take around 73 hours walking at a pace of 5 miles/hour.  We could choose a bike to speed up the time but again it would be an arduous trip and still take four times longer than driving especially hauling the luggage.  We have other options if we don't want to drive we could always take the train or fly.  While it would be great to simply teleport there, sadly that isn't an option and we realize that if we are going to get there then we have to take one of the available methods.  Each method has its pro's and con's that must be considered.  Where exactly we are headed?  How much time to we have to get there?  The amount of stuff we are taking with us, etc.   We accept this reality whenever we are going on a journey, well, at least traveling.

      For some reason we refuse to accept this reality in all the other areas of our life especially our overall health. Regardless of whether we are talking about our physical, mental or spiritual health most people treat it like an episode of Star Trek.  We playing the role of the fearless James T. Kirk disregarding the logical advice of Spock only to find ourselves in a dire situation.  When all seems lost we are able to get a message to Scotty, "Beam me up!"  I don't want to be here any more and we need the quickest, easiest method to alleviate the problem, teleportation.  A perfect example is our physical health.  While it has been shown over and over again in the scientific literature the best way to stay healthy is to maintain an active lifestyle, get enough sleep, eat nutritious foods (a majority of which need to be plant based), take time to work on our relationships and also ourselves but this is all just Spock's logical musing.  We disregard this for the excitement of the adventure and then one day we realize we are in a bad situation, our health is suffering, we have gained weight and are stressed out do to a lack of sleep, poor health and failing relationships.  So we search for Scotty, we need him to beam us up out of this mess we are in.  We are desperate for the quick fix and Scotty becomes the next fad supplement or diet, the magical program that will teleport us from our current state into the one we want.  Weight loss is a $60 Billion Dollar a year business in America, so there are plenty of Scotty's our there to promise you a quick teleport to the new fit, healthy body that you are desperate for and look they have actual proof of before and after pictures to prove that they can truly teleport you. 

     Back to my trip to Lake Tahoe,  if I drive according to the rules (70 MPH) it will take me around 5 1/2 hours to get there.  If I break the rules, I can get there in 4 hours (90 MPH) or even 3 1/2 (100 MPH) but I put myself at a greater risk, both physically and financially.  It is no different with trying to lose weight, it is a journey of math.  A pound of fat is 3,500 calories, so in order to burn a pound of fat you must burn 3,500 calories more than you take in.  You can starve yourself or take stimulants to speed up the weight loss the same way you can speed when you are driving.  The problem is that slow and steady will win the race when it comes to our health, can we cheat?  Yes, but at what cost?  There is no teleportation when it comes to our health and the only truly sustainable plan is to change our daily habits.  We need to stop looking for Scotty to beam us up.  Star Trek was a TV show and not real (sorry Trekies) and neither is any magical claim to teleport you to immediate weight loss and good health.  It's time to listen to the logic of science and create a plan to change your daily habits.  Start walking toward the destination of improved health and you'll find you'll find a truly sustainable journey.

If you need help setting up your plan start by reading Life Pioneers and then call us at TERRIO Therapy to get going.  We are here to help you Get Informed.  Get Moving. and most importantly to GET BETTER! 

Life Pioneers: The Edge of Possibility! by Tim Terrio (Oct 18, 2013)    

Available on Amazon and at All TERRIO Physical Therapy-Fitness locations.  www.myTERRIO.com