Tu Salud¡ SiCuenta! Live your life
“¡Vive Tu Vida!” Live Your Life! was an amazing event that took place in Brownsville last weekend.
The gathering inspired thousands (over 5,000 actually!) to live a quality life — a healthy life — and brought the community together to celebrate physical activity in many forms — and delicious, healthy, fresh food.
Families from all walks of life descended upon Dean Porter Park in Brownsville. The outdoor and indoor space was literally overflowing with children, parents, abuelos and groups from schools, clubs, teams and churches.
The Brownsville Community Health Center organized the event which was part of a national day of events around the country sponsored by the National Alliance for Hispanic Health (the Alliance) and the Health Foundation for the Americas. Partner organizers included the City of Brownsville and Brownsville Independent School District, as well as many other community sponsors.
Outside, kids and adults tried all manner of sport — not just the usual football and soccer, but many for the first time, hit balls with tennis racquets, golf clubs, ran through obstacle courses and even tried out swimming and water safety in Sam’s Pool. There were also cooking demonstrations and samples of healthy snacks. Inside the Pavilion was a massive health fair with screenings and information from numerous community groups, hospitals and agencies.
I was stationed at a booth that offered to calculate people’s Body Mass Index score (BMI) by weighing and measuring and giving tips about how to reach a healthier weight. I was so impressed with the turn out, and the sincere desire on the part of folks to learn how to make healthier choices.
There were hundreds of dad’s and their kids, mothers with babies in strollers, as well as groups of staff, teachers and students that had obviously come to the event together as a group in matching school shirts.
I had the chance to chat with one young father and his 10-year-old daughter. I explained his BMI score (he fell into the “Extreme Obesity” category, as did many), and he seemed eager to learn and willing to listen. As we talked he explained that his 12-hour graveyard shift at a very sedentary job (sitting at a computer) left him little time or energy to exercise.
Furthermore, he shared, “I don’t know how to cook at all, and my wife doesn’t either.
Anyhow, she has two jobs and is home less than I am.” When I probed a bit more about some of the barriers he faces in trying to shed pounds off his 300 plus-pound body, he divulged that not only does he not know how to cook, he literally never eats at home.
“And I mean never!” he shared. “We eat fast food for breakfast, lunch and dinner, every day, every meal of the week. Our big ‘healthy’ meal is at a local buffet restaurant on Sundays.
Can I count that as healthy?” he asks sincerely. He went on to explain he left home at an early age, and his mom really never cooked much either. He grew up on fast food and take-out and hasn’t the slightest idea how to prepare anything in the kitchen much less a home-cooked meal. He understands the health risks he faces because of his obesity, but truly doesn’t know how to begin.
Many of us may not eat every meal out, but compared to times when every meal was at home and made from fresh and healthy ingredients that were locally grown and raised, most of us would have to admit we consume too much high calorie, processed foods found in restaurants, cartons or bags.
I tried to connect him to some groups, classes and websites that could support him. We engaged his daughter in the conversation, and she said she would also like him to be healthier — for their whole family to lose some weight. But mostly they wanted ideas for cooking meals at home, and for making the healthiest possible choices when eating out.
We also discussed the advantages of brisk walking — at least starting with 10 minutes a day and working up to 30 minutes a day. His daughter agreed she would like to walk with him and I encouraged them to make this part of their daily routine — even if it meant cutting out some minutes of TV, computer or other downtime.
At 30 years old, this relatively young man is on his way to diabetes (he is already pre-diabetic and without weight loss will surely convert to diabetes). He has high blood pressure and is just generally uncomfortable. He shared that he doesn’t sleep well, his back often hurts, and he lacks energy. “I am like an old man. I really never meant to end up this way so young. I want to be a better example for my daughter.”
This man, and the Vive Tu Vida event, inspired me to share some very simple recipes for healthy breakfasts and dinners in this column, perhaps on a regular basis. Not that I am any kind of chef or even a great cook, but because I know what cooking and eating even very simple, healthy meals at home together has meant to my own family and my own health.
So stay tuned for some simple recipes or send in your own recipes to share to
Our bodies are made to move and be active — our frames, joints and internal organs are not designed to carry such excessive weight and it ages us early, as realized by the man I met last weekend.
We owe it to ourselves and our families to live an active life and nourish ourselves with fresh, healthy, real food — because Tu Salud ¡Si Cuenta! Your Health Matters!
