This is called Tree Planking. You should try it today or explore your own ways to play out in nature. It’s NOW trending in your local parks and neighborhoods because I said so. To do this, find a sturdy tree, climb it and then playfully explore what your body can do. Speaking of parks, let’s get that stupid caution tape off of our kids’ playground equipment once and for all!
(NOTE: by reading my blog you agree to hold me harmless for any of your own personal reactions or actions. I am not responsible for your projections, assumption and judgments on my character. By reading this blog you are agreeing to accept full responsibility for your decisions, for your life, and your attitude. You should have been doing that anyway but here's your lovely reminder: You are in charge and responsible for everything you think, say, misinterpret, believe, and the specific actions you take. Read everything and then, fact check it for yourself.)
Here's the first truth bomb: One of the greatest global crisis we are facing that directly affects the health care system is obesity. The New England Journal of Medicine released a study concluding that 30% of the world's population is obese - that number includes both adults and children. Obesity is classified as a medical condition in which excess body fat accumulates to the extent that it has an adverse effect on health. It is defined by a body mass index (BMI) of 30 and above. Obesity can lead to Heart Disease, Diabetes, Depression, and premature death. Obesity has even been shown to create a decline in cognitive functioning. And, obesity can make you highly susceptible to COVID-19 resulting in you having a serious reaction that requires medical intervention.
An easy way to tell if you are overweight and in need of getting up and moving and grooving is to do the stand up and look around test. If you are standing up tall and you can't easily see your toes down below your nose that means you need to change your behavior to ensure your personal health care. Put down the remote control, stop going to drive through fast food chains, put down the diet soda (it makes you fat), get outside and get moving every single day. 7 DAYS a week you should move your body for a minimum of an hour! And, you shouldn't just watch what you eat. You should measure, calculate and examine everything that is in what you eat. Food is medicine and all foods cause a chemical reaction in your body.
During this COVID-19 pandemic you should not be staying at home and watching Netflix all day long or even sitting at your computer and doing work without getting up for movement breaks. I know it is hard to lose weight but it is a battle worth fighting for. The whole world is now counting on you whether you know it or not because obesity is so bad in America that the life expectancy of our children is declining.
The CDC has determined that there are three main reasons for the decline in our kids' life expectancy:
1. Increase in drug overdoses
2. Increase in Liver Disease (caused by OBESITY and ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION)
3. Increase in Suicide
Here's what I want to know considering the overwhelming number of pandemics that were already prevalent, did the people “in charge” think about our children and their life expectancy? Did they even pause to consider the quality of our children's lives when they deemed sports as inessential? Did they consider what quality of life our overall population of human beings would have when they decided EVERYONE should stay at home? Did our Governor think about our kids health and safety when they were forced to adapt from a rich, emotionally and physically stimulating environment at school with recess and physical activity to an an online education where they sit still in front of a screen for three to six hours a day? Nope. No. And Triple No.
They did not think about our kids health and wellbeing. They certainly weren't thinking or considerate of mine. But yet, people want to say "It's selfish not to stay home." The elected officials thought of one thing and one thing only: slowing down the rate of infections from COVID-19. Here's what I have been thinking about based on the science of COVID-19; it is not deadly to most children or healthy adults.
And, in sharp contrast the reality is no one making the stay at home decisions thought of the overwhelming increase in obesity, depression and suicide that was inevitable from telling people to stay home which results in a more sedentary lifestyle. At this moment in time, no one should dare deny the fact now that social isolation and loss of livelihood is a dangerous byproduct of the stay-at-home-order because we have now witnessed an over 40% increase in suicides from last year. We don't have the numbers yet on an increase in Heart Disease and Obesity but in time we will more than likely see an increase in both of those, too. Unless of course, we use this opportunity to start taxing the heck out of every industry that is making people fat and sick. Then, perhaps we will save lives.
The experts only thought about saving those that were already dying from dying faster of COVID-19. It would have made too much sense to protect those individuals that were at the highest risk of needing medical attention by having them quarantine, especially considering the fact that those at highest risk of dying of COVID-19 are over the age of 60, many of whom are already retired and so staying at home wouldn't have ment they lost their livelihood.
Instead the experts said, "We are all in this together." All 365 million Americans should all agree to do the exact same thing. What? Really? Now, for the first time in history we are all in something together and it's called #separtetogether. I can't be in an all together plan that consists of an oxymoron and one that doesn't look at the roots of the disease and of death and dying in America. I can't pretend this is all good when I know how sick the world already was. I can't get together on an idea that only considers one thing and doesn't look at the whole global impact. Nor, can I agree that it is ok to not make people take accountability for their lifestyle choices. I know it is politically incorrect to say so, but if you have Heart Disease or are Obese more than likely you did that to yourself. Accept for in some very rare conditions, heart disease and obesity are lifestyle induced diseases. I was all behind the notion of ensuring health care for those that needed it but not at the cost of making all of the other pandemics in America worse than ever before. And, what's going to grow in exponential numbers is people's waistline and what will continue to decline is mental health. (They are all connected.)
Let's talk about what was done. Big Brother came in, decided they knew what was best for ALL of us. They violated the Constitution of The United States and grounded everyone. They took away people's hopes, dreams, jobs, gyms, playgrounds, social gatherings, rituals, and peoples' sources of income - all to save a some lives.
Some think it was a great idea. In fact, I keep encountering people whom I will now permanently distance myself from forever who have tried to explain to me why even at the end of May almost 80 days later that this is all still a good idea. For the record, I was fine with it for a few weeks based on the original narrative of ensuring our health care workers had enough PPE and ventilators ready to go but now that we are still hearing words like "until there is a cure" that's more than I will tolerate.
Here's my second truth bomb: I don't care what the "experts" say. I am not overly impressed with ivy league degrees. I have met plenty with them and I will tell you this, "They are not an expert on how I should live my life. I am the expert in my life!" Now, if I am going in for a heart transplant I want them to have every advanced degree known to man but for basic living, I don't want them to tell me how to live. I have seen people on Facebook sharing the same memes over and over again demonstrating the spread of infection with the understanding that, "children are asymptomatic carriers." In plain English "asymptomatic" means for most kids and healthy adults COVID-19 is no big deal. I just chatted with a friend the other day who had it and didn't even know it. She tested for the antibodies and it turned out she tested positive. According to the science, most healthy individuals will get it, build their antibodies up and they will keep on thriving. But nevertheless, in my State, California, our brilliant Governor said we will, "Overly focus on those most in need; the incarcerated, the homeless and the elderly."
I am all for helping out the elderly but being legally mandated to stay at home when my family and I are healthy to save the homeless and incarcerated seemed a little odd to me to say the least. Here's one way that the city decided to help those most in need of ensuring health care to those that would need it. They thought about putting plastic bubble wrap around the whole world to keep it safe from boo-boos (sarcasm - not fact) but since they couldn't do that what they did instead is first they said, "Stay Home. Do not go out for any reason accept to get food and/or go to the doctor."
The thing that drove me bonkers was the series of consistent inconsistencies in the COVID-19 narrative. Originally the State Government said not to wear masks because they were not effective but then they changed their mind and decided everyone should wear masks or get a $1000 fine and possible jail-time.
Now, that they just opened up the walking path near the beach the experts think that we should all put a cloth covering over our airway when we are exercising which any idiot can do a self-experiment and breathe heavily under a mask and then take it off and determine what helps to fill the lungs more easily. And, the final straw that lit my fires was when the "experts" decided that cutting off vital oxygen flow by covering our kids faces in masks when they go back to school is a good idea. Let's not forget the fact that the majority of masks being sold on Amazon are mostly made in CHINA where COVID-19 originated. And, here's my blazing moment of fury my original inspiration for this blog...they wrapped millions of feet of plastic caution tape on slides and playground equipment to keep the kids from playing outside at the parks. Don't even get me started on how much plastic is now being used again at all of the grocery stores to prevent the spread of COVID-19 that will end up back in a landfill and further wrecking the earth.
The so called "experts" have overly focused on one thing and one thing only instead of the whole greater good. So let's talk about some facts: to date, in my little town not one child has died of COVID-19 since February, 2020. The sick reality here is we have had one child who died and it was by suicide. To date, our playground equipment remains taped. Our kids are being told to stay away from each other.
Do you want to know why people kill themselves? People kill themselves because they feel alone. People kill themselves because they feel like no one understands them and no one can help them. People kill themselves because they don't believe anyone can or will be able to help them. People kill themselves so they can be in control. And, people kill themselves so they can escape the pain of a world that does not do enough to keep them safe.
I might sound a bit cynical and that's because I am. I do not trust the sincerity of our Governor or any policy that makes it more difficult for people to do what's best for their overall health and well-being. I don't trust anyone who wants to control me, intimidate me or who tells me how to live my life. I make excellent choices that are rooted both in science and deep inner knowing. I study everything and for the record peer-reviewed journals can easily be found on google. Anyone can look up the research and public data on COVID-19. You don't need to be an expert to look at the facts. When I make a life-decision, I am strategic, I consider all realms of exercise physiology, nutrition, spirituality, emotional health and how to ensure optimum healing. I am not a Doctor. I don't need to be a DOCTOR to decide what's good for me and my family.
I do not trust any policy that is based on an overwhelming amount of fear and control of human movement and the slow stripping away of civil liberties. I do not trust any policy that doesn't understand how dangerous this is.
When the State closed the gyms, shut down the beaches, closed the trails, they prevented people from being able to move freely. Movement is what prevents obesity and heart disease. Movement is what makes people happy! Movement helps reduce symptoms of depression. So, let me say this one more time for the people in the back who still aren't listening, "The ones dying at the highest rates from COVID-19 are people who are OBESE and those people with Heart Disease, Diabetes and Lung Disease." These are lifestyle diseases that cause slow gradual cell death over time. Also, the ones who are dying at the highest rates are people over the age of 60 years old and mostly over 70. The average life expectancy in worldwide is 72.
In what alternative reality does any of this still make sense? Stripping away of personal freedoms, forcing people to wear masks, isolating our kids, and removing their access to places where they can play and move outside is how you make people sick.
Had things been handled differently once it was clear that there was room at the hospitals for those that needed it, I could have easily got on board and believed that I was "saving lives." But when FatBurger, In&Out, and McDonalds were deemed essential and parks, beaches, gyms, playgrounds and schools were deemed inessential I knew I couldn't get on board. It is clear to me that common sense isn't so common and some of the "experts" are idiots. And, eventually as history does have a way of repeating itself we will eventually discover the truth.
Let's open the parks. Let's let our kids be kids. Let's give them a life to look forward to and bring back sports. Let's let grown ups decide how they will live their own lives. And, let's respect those who have legitimate safety concerns and allow them to continue to stay safe at home. Let's open up the playgrounds.
And, in the meantime remember this, your body deserves your full love, attention and self-care. Losing body fat is not easy but it is necessary! Go outside! Go exercise. Move. Cut out the extra junk. Avoid fast food and save yourself. Get together with healthy friends and feel alright!
If you are interested in starting an exercise program email me and I will help you get moving and grooving!
Sending you loads of tough love and hope for a fitter future!
Love Always,
IMMUNE is a state of mind. Mind over matter. What you focus on is what you will feel. Feel your limitless power and strength to overcome all adversity and challenges. YOU got THIS!
Additional Resources:
The First Amendment states: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” -
