Recently, it occurred to me that one of the reasons I got so heavy in the first place is that I didn't know what I didn't know.
For example: We learn to drive cars because we're taught--either in a class or by someone we know, but we're taught. Some are better at driving, some are worse, but we're taught and there's a measure of some basic competency that takes the form of obtaining a driver's license.
We know how to do our jobs because someone teaches us. Some perform better than others and that typically affects compensation, career ladder and job stability.
We understand language because we get the basics from our families and friends and then we study language in school. Some progress further than others, but we all get the basics. In fact, it's important to note that our locales and cultural rearing significantly affects our language skills and how we use language.
My family taught me to drive on the farm and then those skills were further developed by a driving instructor. I learned to do my job based on my college education and a lot of on the job training. I spoke at an early age and have spent a lot of time developing my language skills through formal education and by continuing to hone my skills by reading and writing on a regular basis.
I was taught to exercise and how to eat by my family. Although I took some home economics classes as well as basic health-oriented classes in grade school, high school and college, none of that stuck.
When I was little, we ate Wonder bread because it was "vitamin fortified". We ate Fruit loops because they had vitamin C added. We ate beef 7-8 times per week because my grandfather raised cattle and it was available.
Although I played some little league baseball and football, I was more interested in the social aspects of those activities than the fitness gained by doing them.
My point is this: No one really taught me how to exercise or eat well. In fact, I was raised to believe that "It's what's on the inside that matters, not what's on the outside." And while I agree that we shouldn't be focused on vanity and physical beauty, we should really spend some time teaching our kids that physical activity and understanding food and nutrition is really important.
In this day and age, we understand a tremendous amount about food, how it's processed and what's in it. We have more opportunities for varied fitness activities than any generation before us. We don't take advantage of this information and we don't instill this crucial knowledge into our kids.
So for me and my family, I'm going to make sure my daughter understands that she MUST eat some vegetables along with her occasional donuts and that when she's bored, she shouldn't plop down in front of the TV or even read a book (although this is her favorite past time). She should get on her bike, or go chase the dog or do some Yoga.
My Mom will be the first one to tell you, we all got fat, in part, because we didn't know what we didn't know.
