Take Charge

Do you ever worry about your weight? If so, you’re not alone. Today it seems as if everybody talks about the “obesity epidemic” and worries about its effect on young people. Parents and teachers want to help. As a result, maybe things have changed a little in your school or city. In some schools, junk food has been replaced by salad bars, and it’s harder to find sugary soft drinks. You may be getting more exercise at school, too. Those changes can help a lot, but you may have trouble controlling your weight anyway. You may eat too much, or too much of the wrong foods, outside of school. You may eat too much fast food. You may ride in a car or school bus when you could be walking. All those things can lead to gaining weight. In modern times, it’s all too easy to gain weight, and it’s hard to lose it. You’ve probably heard many ideas for avoiding obesity—“Ban soft drinks in schools!” “Increase time for physical education!” “Cut down on TV time!” “Eat fewer carbs!” “Eat less protein!” “Drink more water!” “Wash your neck!” (I’m kidding.) Most of the suggestions are aimed at influences in your surroundings. Very often fast-food restaurants are blamed, because many fast foods are high in calories or have too much fat. Soft-drink manufacturers are blamed for selling sugary drinks. Advertisers are blamed for making fattening foods and drinks hard to resist. Parents and schools are blamed for not providing the right kind of meals. The government is blamed for not setting and enforcing standards. And so on. It’s very easy to think, “It’s their fault, not mine. I’m gaining weight because I can’t help it.” Think about that, and be honest with yourself. Yes, it can be hard to keep your weight where it ought to be, but no one is forcing you to eat too much. You can make choices every day that will help you stay at a good weight for your height. You will look better and feel better. Your doctor or school nurse can help you by telling you how much you weigh and giving you advice about good foods and exercise. Making the right choices is your job, though. It’s important for you to take charge of your weight yourself. You may have seen books, magazine articles, or online sites about weight control. Usually, they simply give you a lot of information and tell you what to do. This book is different. Each chapter begins with an activity that will help you learn something about weight control or about yourself. Then you can decide how to apply what you’ve learned. For instance, for one activity you compare cereals in a supermarket. Afterward, you can decide how to use the comparison. It’s all up to you! Don’t even try to rush through the book. Instead, do the activities and fill in the tables and answers gradually. Take it one step at a time, but do keep taking the steps. Each day, do at least one thing—continue an activity that lasts for a week or more, or try a new activity that can be carried out in a few minutes. If you really don’t want to do an activity, skip to the next one. But I hope you will try most of them, to find out what works best for you. You may want to spend weeks or months working your way through the book. Not every strategy works for everyone. If you try an activity for a week or so and it doesn’t help you, go on to another. By the time you finish this book, you will have learned many things about weight control, and about yourself. That will help you use the methods that work for you. Many of the activities contain tables and blanks to be filled in. Use the sample answers as a guide for adding your own answers. This book is your own personal record of how you are taking charge of your weight. You may want to hide it under your mattress, and not show it to anyone! Or you may decide to show it to someone who can help you. Making that choice is part of taking charge.