The State Of Our Well Being....

[Marc Martyn]

I was looking through the latest AARP Bulletin and was shocked to see what the top 50 prescribed drugs are in America. Judging from the drugs prescribed for what ails us, it appears that the state of our health as a nation is not very good. McDonalds, Pepsi-Cola, KFC, Cap'n Crunch and the 50 hour work week seem to be taking their toll. Think again when they ask you, "Would you like to up size that cheeseburger combo?"

[Rich McVey]

Ive taken 5 off of that list. 1 for high blood pressure. The rest were antibotics or decongestants. I dont count the Ibuprofen since I only use non-perscription strength. Unfortunatley I know people that take so many pills daily, they call the first dose breakfast.

[Marc Martyn]

While visiting in New Zealand, I did some people watching. It was interesting to see that the people tended to be less obese and more physically active. I made several trips to the grocery store and noticed that the busiest part of the market was the fresh fruits and vegetable section. The isle that had the boxed dry cereals had about 1/10 the amount of cereals and very few brands targeted for children. We are making some progress though, they have taken the pop and candy machines out of our elementary schools lunch rooms.

[Anglinarcher]

I have reviewed your comments, reviewed the list, and considered my words very carefully.
























And my response is---






























I resemble your first remarks.

[Mike Carey]

yes, well, the rest of the industrialized world will soon catch up to us if Pepsi and company have their way.

we "could" segway this thread into the other health thread... nah, that would be cruel.

How about this - my lunch (I'm eating now) - a green salad with too much cheese and dressing, two ballpark franks with mustard, one can of diet pepsi wild cherry.

exercise today - walking up and down the stairs.

hey, maybe I'll get up the energy to take a shower later. maybe. WAIT - Monday Night Football is tonight! My life has purpose once again.

[Dave]

After changing my life in December 2007 which basically entailed eating healthy and exercising, 21 months later I have lost 159 pounds and my life has never been better. I'm literally a new man and now walk 2 to 4 miles several times each week, make healthy eating choices on a consistent basis, and lift weights every other day which has helped to transform my body. I love feeling and looking like a healthy person and wearing regular / average sized clothes is a fantastic feeling. The best part for me was doing this the old fashioned way. I'm not slamming those who elect to have weight loss surgery because for those who do, I am sure it is the best option for them at the time. I just didn't want to eat like a bird for the rest of my life (and I love to eat) so I chose to just change my eating and lifestyle habits which took a fair amount of time and a healthy dose of determination.

Now I notice more than ever before how fat America is and has become. As a once obese person I never noticed the other fat people around me. Today I notice that a very large percentage of people I see in the grocery store and out in the general public are either overweight or morbidly obese. It just amazes me how fat so many are. The worst part of this epidemic is the fact, and it is a fact, that obesity is the number 2 killer in America behind smoking. They say that obese people can lose up to 20 years of life by being obese. That means if the average American lives to be 70 years of age, they could die by the time they reach 50. That blows my mind and I am so thankful I made the decision to change my life and stick with it. The old saying "nothing tastes as good as thin feels" could not be truer. I love how I feel and look and am also very happy to see so many at my work following suite and losing weight.

[Anglinarcher]

yes, well, the rest of the industrialized world will soon catch up to us if Pepsi and company have their way.

we "could" segway this thread into the other health thread... nah, that would be cruel.

How about this - my lunch (I'm eating now) - a green salad with too much cheese and dressing, two ballpark franks with mustard, one can of diet pepsi wild cherry.

exercise today - walking up and down the stairs.

hey, maybe I'll get up the energy to take a shower later. maybe. WAIT - Monday Night Football is tonight! My life has purpose once again.

Dang-it, now I hungry, think I can find some franks and pepsi at the convenience store?

I'll put off the shower until morning, unless the game ends sooner.

[Mike Carey]

atta way Dave, that's an amazing achievement. If I recall right, if an average person takes in just 200 more calories a day than they expend they will average about 2-3 pounds a year. That doesn't sound like much, until you watch the decades go by, which is what you're seeing in America. I was in a joking mood, but I do try to generally eat better than what I did today.

Weight is key to health, and I would agree that smoking is #1, but I think obesity can be even more devestating to lifestyle. It's hard to do the activities one loves when thay are carrying all that extra baggage all day (as you can confirm). But it's the effects on the body that we can't see that are even more harmful.

[G-Man]

I think making healthy eating decisions is the key. Most of how we eat is learned from our parents, so if you have children, work on their eating habits now as it will pay off big time when they are on their own. I feel my aversion to the cream sauces, melted/fried cheese, mayo and the likes keeps the calories manageable. Just the thought and smell of Lasagna or cheese dip makes me gag. As I'm not really into breads either, I really only need to watch my intake of sweets and dead animals.

I applaud those who have made the choice to live healthier lives. And yes, it is a choice that anyone can make and achieve. My father and his friends are all 70 to 80 years old and they still get out and hunt the hills for deer and elk, how much more incentive does one need?

[hewesfisher]

After changing my life in December 2007 which basically entailed eating healthy and exercising, 21 months later I have lost 159 pounds and my life has never been better. I'm literally a new man and now walk 2 to 4 miles several times each week, make healthy eating choices on a consistent basis, and lift weights every other day which has helped to transform my body. I love feeling and looking like a healthy person and wearing regular / average sized clothes is a fantastic feeling. The best part for me was doing this the old fashioned way. I'm not slamming those who elect to have weight loss surgery because for those who do, I am sure it is the best option for them at the time. I just didn't want to eat like a bird for the rest of my life (and I love to eat) so I chose to just change my eating and lifestyle habits which took a fair amount of time and a healthy dose of determination.

Now I notice more than ever before how fat America is and has become. As a once obese person I never noticed the other fat people around me. Today I notice that a very large percentage of people I see in the grocery store and out in the general public are either overweight or morbidly obese. It just amazes me how fat so many are. The worst part of this epidemic is the fact, and it is a fact, that obesity is the number 2 killer in America behind smoking. They say that obese people can lose up to 20 years of life by being obese. That means if the average American lives to be 70 years of age, they could die by the time they reach 50. That blows my mind and I am so thankful I made the decision to change my life and stick with it. The old saying "nothing tastes as good as thin feels" could not be truer. I love how I feel and look and am also very happy to see so many at my work following suite and losing weight.

Dave, I can appreciate everything you've said. While not at the same extreme as you, I was 192lbs last January ( I'm 5' 7") and with heart disease, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and adult onset diabetes prevalent in my family, I decided it was time to "be smart" about my health.

I never go to the Dr, unless I'm bleeding (badly) or not breathing, so I never went once I retired from the USAF. On my 52nd B-Day last Jan, I decided to have a cholesterol screening done, and the following Monday I started the South Beach diet. I then scheduled myself for an over 50 physical, yes the full blown one, in Feb. My cholesterol was good, and all my labs came back with good results, even my colonoscopy was negative and no polyps were found. Guess I'd been taking better care of myself than I thought. Since Jan, I've dropped 32lbs and went from a 36" waist to a 32". None of my "old" clothes fit, so I got a new wardrobe.

I can't honestly say my energy levels went up, but then my job entails some pretty physical demands as well as tough mental challenges too. So I still deal with stress and being tired from that, but I'm in good physical condition, and my stamina has improved.

The best thing is weighing less now than I did in HS, granted, there was more muscle weight then vs now, but I couldn't wear 32" pants then either. I tip the scales at 160lbs even, and have stabilized there for the last 3 or 4 months. I'm so pleased with the results, I'm never going back. The whole weight loss was purely from eating smart and healthy, not a bunch of gym or weight room activity, or running, or jogging, or walking, or any other kind of "training" activity which I hate to do.

My paternal grandfather died of complications following a 2nd heart attack at age 71, my father succumbed to his second heart attack at 61. I've lost two cousins younger than me while they were still in their 40s. I didn't want to be another family statistic. Tobacco and heavy alcohol use was a factor in all of their lives, but not in mine. I'm looking forward to my "golden year's" with the grandkids on board our ProV, I think I will most certainly make it.

[Dave]

Phil,

Your story is great! It doesn’t matter whether a person has lost 159 pounds or 32 pounds. What matters is making a change that can prolong your life. Great job! Its stories like yours that inspire me so thanks for that. I to, will never go back to being a fat person. I’ve worked far too hard for that and love how I feel & look.

Dave

[Marc Martyn]

Ronald McDonald will be crushed!#-o

[Dave]

Ronald McDonald will be crushed!#-o

That breaks my heart!

[flippinfool]

would you like to supersize that!

[Gisteppo]

The funny part is look at the correlation of leading causes of death and preventable disease. In parentheses I will put the preventable action after the cause of death.

Per the CDC:

Number of deaths for leading causes of death

Heart disease: 631,636 (obesity & lack of exercise)
Cancer: 559,888 (obesity & smoking)
Stroke (cerebrovascular diseases): 137,119 (obesity is a compounding factor)
Chronic lower respiratory diseases: 124,583 (smoking)
Accidents (unintentional injuries): 121,599 (N/A)
Diabetes: 72,449 (obesity)
Alzheimer's disease: 72,432 (N/A)
Influenza and Pneumonia: 56,326 (smoking)
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome, and nephrosis: 45,344 (obesity)
Septicemia: 34,234

Notice that if we just do two things, we can remove the risk factors for all but 3 of the leading causes of death in the US?

Yet time and again people don't heed the data, think it won't happen to them, and order a 3rd serving of french fries.

Im thoroughly inspired by Dave & Phil on this thread, I'm thrilled you guys are adding years to your life and improving the quality of it drastically.

E

[Desertcreek]

We are an extremely lazy society!

[Bodofish]

Going to hell in a bucket but, at least I'm enjoying the ride!

[Dave]

Thanks Gisteppo, and all of you who have been so supportive of my transformation over the last 22 months. After 3 weeks now without losing any weight, I finally dropped a pound as of yesterday which put me at the 160 mark. Man that feels so good to say! I've been at 159 pounds lost for just over 3 weeks (seems like forever) but realize that after this much weight loss my body is simply adjusting to the now drastic change as I go.

You are so right about quality of life G. For 20 years I let myself go, and I absolutely hated the last 10 years of it. I hated being so overweight, unable to do even the easiest of tasks without a huge effort, but thought my obesity was just an “inherited slow metabolism” which I had no control over. Man was I wrong! I really didn't eat like you might think an obese person might eat. I ate 3 meals a day, "normal" by American standards. The problem is; "normal" American eating often consists of big portions that are high in calories, carbs, fat, sugar, and salt which is why obesity is at epidemic proportions in the U.S.

For me, I can say without hesitation that nothing feels better than being fit, feeling great, having the ability to move freely without effort, having renewed confidence, having so much more energy, sleeping so much better, and lastly looking good. I never realized this until I lost the weight. I was so fat for so long that I had forgotten my college days when I was last fit. I wish everyone who was obese could have that feeling I just described for a moment so they too could come to realize this type of life change is so worth the effort. Forgive me for running on about this. Fitness and good health has become my passion and I wish the amazing results of this lifestyle on everyone. Have a great weekend all.

By the way, my success is based on a program I came up with myself in December 2007. It’s nothing unusual. It’s just a healthy eating and exercise program which I am happy to share with anyone who is interested. Just send me a PM. Many of my peers who have asked for my program have lost a lot of weight and changed their lives. Who’s next?