I've had some moments in my fitness career where people experience..the shocker. Not THE shocker, I'm not talking about sex..the shocker where a client wants to know where they're at in terms of body composition. Then they learn the healthy range of an adult in their sex and age group. It's scary to see "here I am; here's where I need to be."

I've literally performed full body compositions for folks (using a method that's around 90% accurate), had them look at their BMI, body fat %, and weight in general, and had them say things like "Fuck, you're telling me I need to lose 25lbs just to get in the average range?" Or "So, you're telling me I'm obese, is that really what you're saying?" My real responses were nothing like what I wanted to say at the time. What I wanted to say was "This is a National standard, which I wasn't personally consulted when it was created, but I have to agree that, yes, if you're 5'2" and a 30 year old female you should not weight 180lbs, you should be maybe 150lbs tops. Umm, I AM not telling you anything, National Institutes of Health and Nutrition are telling you what's healthy and what's not. I DID NOT CALL YOU FAT just now. I swear. But if we're going there...did you really not know already? Let's go back in time 5 minutes ago, where you asked me to do your body composition, I'll just say no, and we'll move on.

But then there's people who genuinely do NOT know what their weight is, because they don't step on the scale, and obviously wouldn't know the healthy weight ranges for their age group would be. You take that person in the Dr.'s office, they get weighed, learn they're pre-diabetic, and need to lose 50lbs in order to become close to a healthy weight for their age. SHOCKER.

I was with my husband and one of his Dr.'s appointments, and could overhear a conversation in the next room. The woman described almost the exact scenario above. She really had no idea she was obese; thought she may have been about 15-20lbs overweight but hadn't weighed herself in years. Her Dr. told her how important it was for her to lose weight, so she doesn't get full blown diabetes. She said if it wasn't for that, she would've never changed her unhealthy eating habits. She didn't realize what her diet composed of, which was white starchy carbohydrates at night, and barely eating during the day, could make her gain so much weight. She said "it wasn't like I was eating cookies and candy, and sweets all of the time like some people I know." I felt for her, because we're all products of our environment. When you're raised eating shit for every meal, having shit in the house instead of fruit, vegetables, and whole grains, then of course those habits carry over into adulthood. Then we bring the next generation into this merry go round. It needs to stop.

Does not knowing if you're at risk for obesity related illnesses, make these illnesses go away? No. So why wouldn't people want to know if they're at risk? FOOD FOR THOUGHT ha.

Now, the parents of obese children, that's something I feel totally different about. If you have a child who is obese you are 100% to blame. On the biggest loser, they had the teams take an obesity quiz. The question was, of obese children, what percentage of their parents DIDN'T think they were obese. The answer was.....75%. 75 FUCKING %. You have got to be fucking kidding me America.

I feel so strongly about this topic because it breaks my heart to see a child who is so overweight they can't even play with their friends. It is their parent's fault 1 million percent. These kids aren't making their own money, to pay for their own food or have control of their eating choices, they are eating what's in their house. A 7 year old who is too heavy to run around with their friends is going to turn to video games to feel included and become more sedentary, depressed, and left out. The parents of these kids need to wake the fuck up and realize their setting their kids up for failure. If the parents are happy being overweight themselves, and not willing to clean their kitchen out for the good of their child eating healthy, then they don't deserve to have a kid. If they're willing to turn a blind eye to the fact that their kid spends 8 hours in front of the tv everyday (the national average is actually 4.5 hours), instead of playing sports with their friends, they got a problem. I would hope after all of this, that if someone actually came to these people's homes and said hey "Your kid is 12 and weighs 120lbs, eats chips and watches TV all day, and gets no physical activity, umm do you think he might be obese?" I WOULD HOPE THEY WOULDN'T BE DUMB ENOUGH TO SAY NO. But that's the sad truth here. 75% of these people said no, and I'm assuming even fewer would actually admit to being the problem.

Thank you Biggest Loser, and Jillian Michaels for making me hate America again. God I love that show..