I will take this opportunity to share with you my true purpose for being on this planet. Yes, tea is my passion, writing is my passion, poetry is my passion, people are my passion, love is my passion, but my purpose is childhood obesity and seeing it come to an end, or at least, decreased significantly.
A portion of the sale of this book and everything else I write is partially funding a non-profit program I have created for overweight teens and tweens called, Lean Teen Self-Esteem. The answer to our current obesity “crisis” is not another diet and exercise plan, it is self-worth and self-love, which are interchangeable with SELF SUCCESS.
For years I sought almost every weight-loss method there was “out there,” until I learned that what I needed was within me. I have lived through the agony of those dark days of shame, but now I know there is light – not just at the end of the tunnel when I reached a certain weight, but all through it, and I now know the light comes from me.
Lean Teen Self-Esteem
Have you heard that there is an obesity “crisis” in our part of the world? Have you looked around at all? Have you looked in the mirror lately? Please do not do so with the eyes of judgement but rather with the eyes of compassion.
Obesity is not just about body mass index, diet, exercise, or nutrition awareness. Nor is it about an ever-growing bunch of overindulged, spoiled, fat and lazy individuals.
Obesity is about self-esteem, self-empowerment, self-worth and self-love, or better put – the lack thereof. Only when an individual is empowered from within will he, or she, make life-long decisions for the betterment of both their physical and mental health.
I was an overweight child who became a diet-crazed teen that lost and gained 20 to 40 pounds almost every year in a futile attempt to look and feel better. That mentality and self-destructive pattern stayed with me most of my adult life which greatly impacted my body’s natural metabolism.
Eventually, I was clinically labeled, “morbidly obese,” thus, proving that diets alone don’t address the core issue.
Ultimately, I was forced to take a long look in the mirror and an even longer look at my soul. I have now walked this journey of self-discovery and self-love for more than 40 years, and I am still learning.
Our current statistics report that one third of our youth population is considered overweight – 75 percent of those youth will grow up to be overweight or obese adults.
As a whole, youth only account for 26 percent of the total population – but they are 100 percent of the future!
For overweight kids in pain, I have created the Lean Teen Self-Esteem program.
It is a FREE program for all the kids eating to fill a hole, eating to stuff a void, eating to comfort aches, eating in a trance, eating out of revenge, eating in frustration, eating in anger, and for those young people who haven’t a clue as to why they are overeating and why they are unfulfilled.
Lean Teen Self-Esteem is to awaken from the slumber of hunger for the self; it is self-empowerment, self-reflection, self-awareness and self-acceptance. Only then can there be positive changes made in current behaviours.
I am taking my pain and turning it into my passion and purpose; and I intend to help thousands of young people on this personal mission of mine. The numbers of obese youth have been rising for almost 15 years now. This indicates to me that the core issues are not being fully addressed. An overweight person will not be motivated by simply offering them a diet and exercise plan – you must first touch their heart and allow them to know they were born valuable. You must give these children a voice, a place to express this voice and a place to be loved – this is the goal of the Lean Teen Self-Esteem program.
Please feel free to contact me with any joint venture ideas because if you have a passion for teens, a product for teens, or see obesity for what it truly is – then I would love to hear from you.
You are welcome to visit: www.LeanTeenSelfEsteem.org
