Fat on the inside

When it comes to being fit, experts say there is no short-cut. "If you just want to look thin, then maybe dieting is enough," Bell said. "But if you want to actually be healthy, then exercise has to be an important component of your lifestyle."

So said an article in the LA Times last weekend in regards to a new study on "internal fat." The study found that thin people who don't exercise or eat well could be storing fat around their organs INSIDE their body, making them more vulnerable to diabetes and heart disease than their heavier but more active counterparts.

I sometimes take this yoga class from Bryan Kest who is just fantastic in his unorthodox way of leading a class. He makes light of the Indian names and false reverence often found in less compelling yoga classes. "This is called bending over and holding one leg up," he'll say in a class before he goes on to say "who cares how you look in a bathing suit if you can't bend over and pick up your kids. What could be more important than bending over?"

In this uber-superficial city/country/world people are so focused on what they look like and what other people look like. It's easy to look at an obese person and say, wow, I must be really healthy compared to them but this new study says "thin fat" people may as well be obese. Health is not measured on the outside.

Here's the good news. Exercise makes you feel good. It's meant to. It's like a good friend of mine always says "the body wants to be in shape." You don't have to do much, just give it a little encouragement. Exercise shouldn't be torture, it should be fun. And when you feel good, you'll look good. My very first yoga teacher used to have us look in the mirror after class so we could see how much better we looked. Bright eyes, worry lines relaxed, clear skin.

When I was doing fund raising for the YMCA, I remember the administrator saying "if everyone showed up to work out who had a membership, they couldn't all fit in the door." People buy a membership because they think it will motivate them to work out. But if feeling good, being able to move and aging in style doesn't compel a person, no amount of money spent will.