It's Not About You: 6 Ways to Alleviate the US Deficit Through a Healthy Weight Loss Program

Oct. 18, 2010 - PRLog -- Weight Loss.  It seems that for many years, most Americans have been on a diet of one kind or another.  The diet industry is a $57 billion dollar industry.  However, given the skyrocketing levels of overweight and obesity in the American adult population, it is clear that the most popular diets, many of which are unhealthy, are not doing a thing to help people lose weight, let alone keep money in the average American's wallet.

The result is a lot more than just a profitable diet industry.  The country is going broke, in part because of the health problems caused by overweight and obesity.  This is no longer a personal problem, it's a national crisis.

The health care system has not promoted true health for a long time, nor do the current attempts to "fix" the system promise anything more than encouraging people to stay sick by offering more reimbursements of medications and surgeries.  

And where is this money coming from?  The American taxpayer, of course.

Americans seldom realize that most of the conditions that the government is wiling to use taxpayer money to pay for are usually directly linked to obesity, and that most of these conditions are completely preventable and in many cases reversible with a healthy lifestyle.

Most Americans already know they need to eat healthier and get more exercise.  Doctors have been saying this for years, yet obesity is on the rise in both the adult and alarmingly now the child population.  What can the average person, who is busy working at least one job and monitoring their finances very closely, do to improve their health?   Belinda offers 6 of the health-promoting and money-saving tips that she teaches on her healthy weight loss program:

1) Write down three long-term benefits of getting healthy, not just short-term benefits of weight loss.  Visualize yourself having energy and enthusiasm everyday, perhaps even taking up an exercise such as running.  Think about how much money you can keep in your pocket for yourself and for your children if you are not paying for medications and surgeries. Recognize that a healthy person also pays lower premiums on health and life insurance.

2) Make it your personal mission to NOT buy food that you know is bad for you.  You are not "saving money" by buying a gallon of ice cream vs. a pint of ice cream, you are contributing to sickness that you will have to pay for later on.

3)  Make it your personal mission to learn about and implement one new health-promoting food choice or activity each week.  By being committed to being healthy, you are investing in the physical and economic health of both yourself and the nation.

4) Extend this mission beyond yourself.  Get your workplace or school involved in health-promotion, and do some research to back it up with the money-saving facts of getting healthy.  A recent study came out that says "Obesity among full-time U.S. employees costs an estimated $73.1 billion annually, according to a new study by a  researcher at Duke University in North Carolina."  For example, have your workplace institute a rule whereby staffers are only permitted to bring in healthy foods to share with the office, rather than common unhealthy foods such as donuts, cookies and muffins.

5)  Recognize that it's not your fault that you might be unhealthy now, but it also doesn't mean that you can't take steps to change.  Our society promotes obesity in many ways, ranging from super-sizing to television watching, from college beer drinking to a general culture of excess.  It takes time and effort to go against the grain, but if your mission to get healthy is clear, then nothing should get in your way.

6) Reach out for support.  Support is the key to success in any endeavor, and will help you overcome the obstacles you might face on your journey to health.  Doctors no longer have time to coach people on healthy eating and exercise programs, so health coaches are now multiplying to fill the need.  They are not always expensive, and in some cases they are even free depending on the program.  

Belinda, who offers her health coaching services for free to clients on her program, believes that everyone is entitled to health and everyone who makes the decision to pursue it can achieve it if they have the right plan and the right support system.

"85% of people who go on a diet regain their weight within a few months because they don't learn how to shift their mindset from one of losing weight to one of being healthy for life," Belinda says.  "The reason I became a health coach is because I wanted to teach people how to make health a priority in their lives so that they understand that it's not just about weight loss, it's about improving and maintaining their health to reap the benefits in both the short and long term.  I do this in an easy, supportive, and fun way, not in a drill sergeant boot-camp type of way.  My motivation is seeing my clients get off their cholesterol, blood pressure, and diabetes medications and finally starting to live life on their terms, not on the terms of a preventable disease."

Belinda offers a downloadable guide entitled, "How to Eat Healthier with Limited Time and Money" at http://www.HealthyAffordableWeightLoss.com, a website which gives even more efficient and low-cost ways to start down the path of creating health.

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HealthyAffordableWeightLoss.com is a website that shares information on healthy and affordable options for helping busy people create health in their lives.