Fantastic Cakes and Cardio!

by Kris Pitcher

An article caught my eye in the complimentary, color, copy of the USA Today at my hotel the other day. The obesity rate is climbing at an alarming rate. By 2030 nearly 50% of the US population will be 30 pounds or more above a healthy weight, making them "obese".

One of the challenges as described by the little column is the constant bombarding we get from messaging about food, fast food. Basically, we're being circled by it like sharks (my words). Being desensitized to the world around us has become the problem. And I realized this for myself on the treadmill this week.

I used to know a gal who would watch the food network for hours while she did her cardio. She was a teacher at the time. I called it, "food porn". Again, my words. She eventually quit teaching and became a pastry chef. And I bet she still does hours of cardio.

At the time I wondered how anyone could torture themselves like that. Watching all that amazing food being prepared? Then I flipped to TLC's Fantastic Cakes! I looked left, then right...no one but me in the place. I watched three chefs create works of art, in a time crunch, for three different special events.

I don't know if I'm sick or just completely desensitized!? I think it's the latter. The cakes didn't seem real to me. They were inanimate. Now, I don't watch food shows while I do my cardio as a rule. But I can see how you could be desensitized either way. The cakes...they were dead to me! (Ok that was a little dramatic.)

It was the artistry that was fascinating to me. I also recognized in that moment, our world is full of "food content". Even our entertainment is about food. All different kinds of programming about it - competitions, how to's, even shows about building amazing cakes. It is everywhere and we are bombarded by it.

Staying focused in this world is a challenge. I intended to do 30 minutes on the treadmill. But I got all wrapped up in these cakes and I needed to see each one delivered. After 45 minutes each was safely being eaten by a party of onlookers.

Then Miami Ink came on, and I figured I better quit before I walked another couple of hours...Keep yourself focused, it isn't easy. We've got a lot of work to do to keep from turning into that statistic. Sometimes it just takes a little encouragement from someone. Pass it on!