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Myth #3: Joining a gym is all you need
In fact I even recently joined a Wellness Center because I was told they're so much better than gym. And I went, religiously.... I attended a whole variety of classes, I used all the equipment. And frankly after about 9 months I was bored, bored, bored! But here's my point. I didn’t need any enticement or encouragement to be active as a child. Although um…I come to think of it, I know I had plenty of unintended encouragement to be more inactive!. Like most kids I know, I got into trouble if I was too active and got praised as being a 'good girl' when I played quietly with my dolls. I remember as a child that I hated to stop playing – I wanted more. Bath-time was an interruption to climbing trees or playing games. I didn’t want to come inside, clean up and get ready for supper and bed. I didn’t need to think about joining a gym or running on a treadmill – I climbed up couches and skipped up stairs. Everywhere and everything in my environment was my natural jungle gym. I raced to and fro and climbed, skipped and jumped at any opportunity. I didn’t need anyone to bark commands at me in order to keep moving, I just did what came naturally and the result? I was naturally fit. My childhood of playingAdmittedly, I was also lucky to grow up in an era when ,b>it was still safe to play outside. Riding my blue bicycle in the streets of the little country town I grew up in was something all us kids did.
Times were also a lot less pressured. We didn't seem to have as much homework as today's children (and actually just carrying around those heavy schoolbags is like a class in weight-training), we seemed to have more time to play. The children of my generation would never had to have thought about joining a gym! Never! Should children be joining a gym?But here's what I find fills me with sadness.A while back I a BBC documentary showing children who had been conned into joining a gym. And here they were all using mini gym equipment. Shortly after I was on a radio program with someone who was introducing gyms for children into South Africa. I don’t think he was very happy to hear me saying that I didn’t think they were a good idea. Here's why I still don't agree with gyms for children. The minute I think about it, my mind is filled with visions of those poor little British mites I’d seen pumping away with their trainers shouting 'encouragement'. They looked like they were in pain and as if they were trying to attain a perfect workout even at their age. What I remembered most was that there wasn’t a single smile on a single little face. If they were having any fun at all, there was no way you’d ever have guessed because their faces sure didn’t know about it. They looked every bit as serious as adults at gym. And like many adults they were not there to play and have fun but to get fit and lose weight. These simply shouldn't be the reason young children of 6 and 7 are running on mini treadmills. As far as I'm concerned - gyms for children just indicate how badly we've lost the plot. And then, one day we're going to wonder why we're breeding a generation who are suffering from
exercise bulimia
Don't you wish that instead of telling you how much exercise to do and when and how to do it, weight loss plans focused on changing your attitude towards exercise? Imagine if you could find a way to make exercise play again. Well that's exactly what I show members of the Mind over Fatter Programme how to do, because that's what make an active lifestyle fun.
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I got the link to your website from the SBI website forum and decided to take a peek. Excellent information here. I especially like the page about sleep and weight , as well as the info on international weight research . Keep up the good work. I love your bright, cheery logo :)
Catherine - New Hampshire,USA
I really love the idea of doing some 'head stuff' tweaking instead of dieting. This is a GREAT website, loaded with unusual information.
Linda-Tampa, Florida
I LOVE this website. It's really thought-provoking, it's given me ideas about dieting and weight loss that I would never have contemplated. It makes such sense in a world where much about dieting doesn't. Bravo! I also loved your quizzes. I will be a repeat visitor. PS I have signed up for your free Joy-Filled Body Tips.
Jackie - San Rafael, California
Get your Child to Eat
Healthy the easy peasy way
Love your site... it's wonderfully creative. It comes alive and makes me want to live a more joy-filled life and the added bonus is that it is also incredibly wise.
Tatiana - New Mexico
I am a university-bound teenager from the United States. Two years ago I was diagnosed with anorexia, a battle that eventually found me in the hospital.Dieting has robbed me of too much time. I found this website by chance. I've spent a lot of time browsing through articles and reading stories. It has changed my attitude and made me want to be MY ideal weight, not someone else's. Thank you to all the contributors and readers of Mind over Fatter. I deeply appreciate everything you do.(abridged by Cari)
Zoe - United States
I can't believe Oprah hasn't interviewed you on her show yet!
Steve Trimby- Somerset West, South Africa
I spent a little time looking at your website and I think it's fabulous! It's so good to see a SENSIBLE approach to weight loss on the web. Well done!Katherine -Australia
It's easy in our society today to feel that our value is determined by the number on the scale. I am encouraged to change my mind so I can love myself for who I am not how much I weigh. Thank you so much for your website. It is such an inspiration to me!
Thank you! Rachel, USA
