Make no mistake about it, overweight and obesity are costing our country billions of dollars every year. Depending on the organization doing the research, the number is bewteen 58 and 70+ billion dollars a year. That’s a lot of dough, literally! All those simple carbohydrates are killing us…

I hear our new president talking a lot about healthcare and what we need to do to make it more affordable. We work on policy, argue over costs and how to implement such a plan, yet it seems to me like the first thing we need to do is simply get people moving and eating better.

President Obama is leading this charge. He talks about exercise and physical fitness regularly, and does so himself almost every day. The White House also just broke ground on an 18-acre garden as a means of promoting and providing the importance of eating more fresh fruits and vegetables. That’s a good start, but we have a long way to go.

When I read statistics like that one above, I just get scared and begin to wonder where health care costs will really be if we let this problem continue. The whole thing makes me think of a giant snowball rolling down hill, getting bigger and bigger until at the bottom of the mountain it just rolls right over all of us.

It could also be compared to that scene from the old Ghost Busters film where the Pillsbury doughboy turns into a giant menace and begins stomping over the entire city. I fear we are living this out for real. But instead of the doughboy, we have turned him into a giant pink elephant that no one really wants to talk about.

We can make all the policy changes we want, but until we get down to the roots of the garden, we are going to have real trouble!

Here is a link to an article on the study that was performed recently and that prompted me to write this article:

http://www.reporternews.com/news/2009/apr/07/15-of-preschoolers-obese/

I encourage you to read it. Let it really sink in, kind of like you do when you sit down on the couch. Consider where we are heading as a nation and what you might be able to do about it. First, for yourself and your family. Once you get that part under control, maybe you can help me with the rest.

In the mean time, your pursuit of peak health and fitness will make you and the ones you love that much healthier, and will begin the process of saving this nation one vegetable garden at a time.

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Today I want to communicate to you the truth about exercise. I want to explain to you why you need to ignore all of the government warnings about how much you should be moving. As MD Henry Lodge states in his powerful and provocative book, “Younger Next Year” the government’s recommendation to exercise 3 or 4 days per week is only a bare minimum. A desperate plea from the medical profession to a nation of couch potatoes.

Remember this…

Your body literally craves the daily chemistry of exercise. Henry Lodge also puts it this way…”When you get in shape, when you exercise, when you dance, you are sharing the ancient chemistry of movement with every other animal on the planet.” Think of how happy a dog is when he is set free from the leash at the park. You can almost see him smiling. He will run for days if you let him. When you find this universal instinctive truth, there will be no stopping you.

Nature’s rule is simple, do something every day. It doesn’t have to be the same thing over and over either. And really, it shouldn’t. A new stimulus on the body means new adaptations, a new you every day.

You absolutely MUST connect with this truth and this reality. Yes, I know, you might be saying right now that you are busy, life is crazy and “I just don’t have enough time or energy to exercise that often.” These are only excuses and a confusion of priorities. Exercise at least 6 days a week is no longer an option. Especially when you reach the age of 50. Because at that point you literally have two choices. You don’t exercise, grow old and wear out, or you start moving on a regular basis and live a long, healthy, fit and energetic life into your 80s and beyond. I know which one I’m choosing.

Believe me, I’ve heard all the excuses and misconceptions about why people can’t exercise on a daily basis. Helping people work through these is a big part of my job. And regardless of whether or not you ever consult with me on how to make it happen in your life, I want to communicate something very clearly…

Making excuses about how you are too tired, busy, or unorganized to exercise regularly is just denial. It’s thinking about the whole thing backwards. You are tired and lethargic during and at the end of your day and even in the morning, because you don’t get enough exercise and are not eating well and taking your vitamins.

People become mentally, physically, and emotionally drained from being sedentary. Yes, it’s true. And I know how that can sound to someone who is sitting right now reading this passage. But it really is true, even if it sounds to you like an oversimplification. Arriving on your doorstep exhausted every night is not living. It is merely surviving, and a really really long way from thriving. I choose to thrive!

Remember, as Deepak Chopra puts it, “Your body’s natural state is to be healthy.” When you are worn out, put out, and stressed out, feeling as though you don’t have the energy to physically move every day and love it, something has gone terribly wrong. The good news is that you can do something about it.

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