New miracle prescription helps weight loss, diabetes, high blood pressure, depression and more!

Got your attention, didn't it?  What if I said that it really does exist?  A miracle prescription that can cure all of these things and more?  You would want to know what it is, wouldn't you?  You would want to get it for yourself or a loved one that might be suffering from one or all of these things?  What if it was just that simple?

Well, it is simple:  it's called regular exercise along with good food choices.  Blah!  That's not what you wanted to hear, right?  Sorry, it's a fact though.  If all the health benefits that came with regular exercise was in a pill form it would certainly be called a miracle drug.  Exercise is something that I think too many doctors fail to prescribe before medication.  I mean literally write it down on a pad and hand it to the patient, not just make the suggestion to them.  And when they do prescribe exercise to a patient, they should be very serious and deliberate about follow up just as they would any other prescription.

Some people would literally kill for a miracle reversal of bad health, yet they don't want to exercise.  "If I could just have a pill instead...."  Let's see, this pill here may cause all sorts of sexual side effects, ruin your liver, or occasionally cause death.  No biggie.  Give it to me!  There's a new popular weight loss drug that I don't even want to say the side effects because it's just too nasty (let's just say keep fresh undies with you at all times).  Really?  This is better than exercise?  Really?!

This entry has been kind of hard for me to write--I like to be more positive usually.  I really don't want to sound judgmental--this is not intended to be--nor is it to condemn anyone for past or present choices.  I just needed to get the attention for those who might be seeking the magical "pill" that can cure these things.  Sometimes people see pills as the only way out.  They just don't realize or give themselves enough credit that they CAN do it on their own.  I know a girl who has tried nearly every fad diet in the world, and she keeps complaining that they just don't work--yet she tries another. 

Diet and weight loss is a billion dollar industry (more accurately, $58 billion according to the American Dietetic Association).  If we are spending billions of dollars on diet and weight loss each year, then why are Americans just getting fatter?  Because the products don't work!  They are selling dreams and possibilities.  Unfortunately, they are not selling reality for the long term.  It all comes down again to calories in and calories out--good food and exercise.  The products that work (at least temporarily) are the ones you are supposed to take along with a healthy diet and exercise.  Guess what?  It works because of the food and exercise part, so just save your money.

Someone might say that they've tried eating right and exercising, and it just didn't work for them.  They lost the weight, but it all came back--sometimes with a little more.  It happens so often, that the term "yo-yo dieter" doesn't even need an explanation.  This is certainly not a willpower problem--they obviously put in work to lose the weight.  There is a problem in perceptions and expectations.  The problem is that people think that if they just get to their "goal" weight, they can quit torturing themselves with diet and exercise, and get things back to "normal".  I'm not sure why it doesn't click with them that their old "normal" got them there in the first place!  They need a new normal to continue to be healthy.

Exercise has played a huge role in my own health story.  Three years ago, I was on two different prescriptions for high blood pressure.  My highest blood pressure reading was 210/116 while I was on one prescription drug already.  Seriously, that's not a typo.  So they had to add another drug.  Even after being on two drugs, my blood pressure was still running high (130/80+).  It was more frustrating to me that I didn't even have one usual risk factor for hypertension.  I hated the thought of taking two pills a day for the rest of my life (I was only 36 at the time).  So a year and a half ago, I started running.  Since that time, under my doctor's supervision, I have been able to wean myself off the pills.  I took my blood pressure just the other day and it was 116/78.  I have also lost more than 15 pounds.  It's just amazing to me that regular exercise had better results than two prescription drugs.  If that can't be considered a health care miracle, I'm not sure what is.

Exercise involves a new way of life.  It's your new life, and you are so worth it!  As hard as it is to find time for regular exercise, staying unhealthy is not the easier choice in the long run.  To ensure better success, make small changes and keep adjusting as those habits become your new normal.  Make sure you are making healthy choices that you can sustain for life (i.e. do not deprive yourself, neglect your family, or hurt yourself with too much too fast).  Start slowly, like finding time to walk 30 minutes a day.  How about your two 15 minute breaks at work or during lunch?  Take a loop around the block with your co-workers.  It all adds up.

If you need to lose weight on top of getting active, try starting small by cutting out sweetened drinks and soda.  That can save you hundreds of calories a day (did you know a Starbucks Caffè Mocha has 260 calories with 8 grams of fat, and 41 carbs?).  It only takes a 500 calorie deficit a day to lose a pound a week.  One pound a week for a year is 52 pounds lost.  That's impressive to me.

See, it's really not so hard after all.  It is really something you can do.  You just have believe in yourself and  make up your mind to change your life for the better--and forever.