A Minute on the Lips

Before you extend your arm to pick up another piece of cake or potato kugel this Passover, just remember that you’ll have to do forty minutes of brisk walking in order to neutralize those calories.

There’s a cute expression in Hebrew: daka basfatayim, shana bamotnayim. This is one of the rare expressions that translates well also, as follows: A minute on the lips is a year on the hips. We’re quick to put things in our mouth, but then we regret our lack of self-control for a long time.

Many people aren’t interested in hearing, but giving in to the fancy sweet buffets and cake platters is a virtual double transgression of Torah: the Torah commands us to care for our health, Venishmartim, and the Torah also commands us not to give in to the temptations of the eyes, V’lo taturu. Sure, we are allowed to partake of sweets and delicacies on Shabbat and at mitzvah celebrations, but not to the extent that we do damage to ourselves.

With global warming, hot summers are even hotter. The hotter the weather is, the more dangerous obesity is. Here’s how:

Fat is a natural insulation material – it keeps the body warm. For that reason, the risk of heat-related illnesses, particularly heat stroke, increases with the degree that a person is overweight. Why? The more obese a person is, the more difficult it is for him to get rid of excess body heat. It’s like walking around in the summer while wearing a heavy fur-lined coat.

The body circulates blood to dissipate heat through the skin as a means of staying cool. If you shave your head, you can literally feel the heat coming out of your scalp. That’s the body cooling itself, just as the exhaust of an air conditioner blows out warm air. But while the air-conditioner has its coolant, the body circulates its blood to disperse the heat. The more heat the body must get rid of, the harder the heart must pump. As such, a heavy person’s heart has to pump much harder in order to get the cooling job done.

Overweight people also tend to sweat more, which causes them to lose body fluids and minerals. If they don’t drink plenty of fresh water, they’re candidates for dehydration and heat stroke, Heaven forbid. And, if they drink liquids with high sugar content, they might not dehydrate but they’ll be gaining even more weight. A 12-ounce can of Coke adds another 139 calories to your body. You’ll need 25 minutes of brisk walking to get rid of it. Is it worth it? That’s without mentioning the damage the silly Coke does to your teeth and bones by bleeding the body of its calcium. So be careful and drink plenty of water to prevent dehydration.

Once Pesach is over and you can go back to drinking alcohol, remember that alcohol consumption is generally bad news, but in the warm weather, it’s even worse. A beer on the beach is something you want to avoid. That 12-ounce beer has just about the same amount of calories as the equivalent sized can of Coke, but in addition, the alcohol  dehydrates the body, and mixed with the heat, the brew (or booze) and the sun are a dangerous combination greatly increases the risk of heat stroke.

I know, dear reader, it’s counterproductive to belabor you with more facts than you already need or want to know. Before you tell me to get off your cage, answer this: Who doesn’t want to look nice and trim in their summer attire? Everyone does, including you! Then here’s the good news – losing weight is a lot easier than many people think.

If you take the following advice, you’ll drop excess pounds really fast. Let’s preface with Rebbe Nachman’s classic teaching (see Likutei Moharan I:47), namely, that overeating invokes severe judgments and other spiritual ills. The Zohar says that when one eats for bodily pleasure or gluttony rather than for health or for a mitzvah, the eating strengthens the dark-side, Heaven forbid. The opposite is also true: when a person eats in moderation and for the purpose of a healthy body to serve Hashem, he can perform miracles!

Practical Advice for Quick and Easy Weight Loss

1. Substitute all beverages and soft drinks for good-quality water or sparkling water.

2. Replace coffee and tea with herbal tea and green tea; learn to drink without sugar or artificial sweeteners.

3. Replace all snack foods, cookies and cakes with fresh fruit, dried fruit, non-toasted nuts and seeds. Carrot, celery and cucumber are super weight-loss snacks.

4. Use the stairs instead of escalators and elevators whenever you can. Walk rather than drive at every opportunity.

5. Ask Hashem to help you eat properly. If you devote 30 of your 60 daily minutes of personal prayer to seeking Hashem’s assistance in losing weight and overcoming the urge to eat, you’ll see major miracles and significant weight loss.

6. Eat at home and save money on restaurants.

7. The closer to nature the food is, the healthier it is.

8. Avoid processed foods as much as you possibly can; manufacturers are concerned about making money; they care nothing about your health. Especially avoid junk.

9. Try and replace white sugar and flour with whole-grain flour and natural sugar. Rule of thumb – the less the sugar, the better.

10. Take advantage of time and couple an hour a day of personal prayer with an hour a day of walking.

11. Set aside a few minutes a day for exercise.

This above is a mere nutshell, but it’ll get you on the road to looking and feeling so much better. Blessings for good health!

Rabbi Lazer Brody is also a certified personal fitness trainer.