Was I too tough on you this week?

Looking over my last few posts, I was worried that I was too hard on you. In fact, I was asking myself, "what's my problem?" Why am I pounding my readers over the head w/ 'push yourself', 'try harder', 'stop procastinating'?

And yesterday, during a conversation w/ a friend, I realized what it is.

In the last 2 weeks, I have had soooooo many conversations with people about health issues that are all related to: lack of diet & exercise.

Do any of you see or understand that diet & exercise are actually PREVENTITIVE measures you can take to avoid many diseases and conditions. Instead, many go with the 'reactive route' of medicines, procedures, prescriptions, and still deal with the diseases/disorders/conditions/discomfort/early death.

Don't even get me started about how I feel that doctors should be more proactive with patients and get them plugged into a regimen to be healthier, until waiting 'til it's too late to just prescribe a pill, injection, potion, or lotion.

In the last 2 weeks, I've heard of people who have been diagnosed with:

• Borderline diabetes (a person that I've shared health & diet w/ over 2 years)
• Chronic Kidney Disease (a person I've pleaded with to give up sodas (4-6/day) for 7 years)
• Diabetes (a person who needs the shots & medicine, who is reluctant to eat better)
• Kidney Disease (a soda-addict that now goes 3X/wk. for their 'blood to be cleaned'/dialysis)
• COPD (this condition will progress thru stages, to the point of chronic pneumonia/on oxygen - this person is still smoking)
• High Blood Pressure (this person says, "I only have HBP"....for now...and they're not making changes w/ their diet/exercise)
• Liver Disease (this person has been a chronic pill popper, pain med consumer)

All these things are pretty preventable through making healthy choices. Can you see why I get so fired up & passionate?

A couple months ago, a friend of mine asked me how I stay motivated to just keep going w/ my workouts and eating lean. Look at that list above - I DO NOT WANT THOSE THINGS!!!! I want quality of life when I'm in my 50s & 60s. I don't want to spend my days when I'm 'retired' in the docs offices, in line at the pharmacy, plugged into machines to breathe/live, etc.

What can you do today? Stop the crazy soda consumption. Give up smoking. Start walking, jogging, a workout program. Drink more water. Decrease your red meat consumption. Cut back on caffeine. Cut back/give up the alcoholic drinks nightly. Stop stuffing your gut w/ cookies/cakes/ice cream - SUGARS. Give up the pizza dipped in ranch w/ a super wedge! Eat the green stuff, the lean stuff, the healthy stuff - and get moving ASAP!

This is why I share a message of self-control. When we control our appetites & desires for unhealthy foods/drinks, we are setting ourselves up for a better life, one of less disease. Hear my heart - make better choices so that you can have a better life! Please.....

P.S. Get your kids off this junk too - people are getting sicker earlier....and we as parents need to be more responsible w/ what we feed our kids! Help them live longer while they have you.