NUMBERS DO NOT

LIE

It has been 70 days or 10 weeks since I last smoked a cigarette. So zero is the first number and the second number is 490 or the amount of money I have saved by not smoking. The third number is 124 over 72 which was my blood pressure the last time it was measured. The fourth number is 211 lbs so unlike many others who quit smoking I have lost weight rather than gaining it. The last number is more important to me and it is my body fat which is down to 19.7 with 20.2% considered excellent for a male my age.

So at 56 and after almost 40 years of smoking I have been fortunate to stop before any serious health crisis other than elevated blood pressure. I do consider myself very fortunate and blessed to continue to be in good health since I have not always followed the advice I give as it regards prevention of disease and illness. I was having a difficult time continuing to write and lecture about the benefits of disease prevention while I continued to smoke cigarettes. I believe they call it cognitive dissonance when you hold or propose to hold a belief but act in a manner that contradicts that belief.

So I am proud to be able to say these words when appropriate I do not smoke. Cigarettes controlled my life in some manner for years and it feels great to be set free of this terrible addiction. I thank God for giving me the strength and common sense to finally stop trying to stop smoking and stop. Just as former smokers said to me for years, "when you are ready you will stop," and they were right. In the past I was not ready and was constantly trying and convincing myself that I had done my best. Well it was not my best and when I finally gave it 100% I was successful.

Going forward I can write lecture and discuss health and disease prevention without feeling like a hypocrite. So for you folks out there who may be struggling with something that you either need to do or need to stop I hope I am an inspiration for you to finally conquer your demons and live the the life you really want. So go ahead get up get moving and remember, "CHIT CHAT WON'T BURN FAT."

IMAGINE BEING

ADDICTED TO FOOD

After struggling with nicotine addiction for over 40 years and understanding how difficult it was for me to stop using nicotine, I am applying the same principles to weight loss and nutrition. It is clear to me after a great deal of research and inquiry that much of the processed food that we are served everyday is addictive in every manner of speaking. The processed food industry even admits it in a 60 minutes interview where they actually use the word addictive to describe the artificial flavors they create. 

My addiction was to a substance that I did not need in order to live and survive in this world. However food is something you need as we are required to eat multiple times per day. You can not survive without food so it means you have to eat. So if you have to eat and you are addicted to the wrong food substances you are fighting an uphill battle that most people appear to be losing. So unlike myself they are not able to just say no to all food as I can to all cigarettes. Now imagine that there were good cigarettes and bad cigarettes and the bad cigarettes cost less and were easier to find and they are addictive. Now add in the fact that you also have a limited income and the good cigarettes cost 20 to 30 percent  more. 

Well this is the place that many of the overweight and obese people in the USA face everyday 4-5 times a day. What shall I eat? Imagine the process of thought, it cost more; I have to travel further; and I like it less. This is why many of these people will require some sort of intervention that will assist them in breaking years of bad habits that have left them addicted to food like substances rather than real food. Artificial flavors are addictive for a reason, they want you to come back for more and if they did not add the addictive substances you would not eat them since they are not real food.

These substances activate the same areas of the brain as the known addictive drugs such as cocaine and heroin. It should be illegal but it is not because the right people are making money selling what only can be described with same words as it counterparts, junk and those who eat it as junkies. What is also tangible is that the outcome will be the same, sickness, disease, and then death. This what awaits many who find themselves trapped in a cycle of addiction that they have little or no control over. They need our help to learn and adapt to a different lifestyle.

If your poor, isolated in a food desert and uninformed you are likely to have poor numbers as it regards high blood pressure, diabetes, and cholesterol. So means, location and education all matter in terms of your health just as they do in terms of careers, parenting and income. And no matter how much you workout you can not out work bad eating habits. So you may want to check what is in your kitchen and remember, "CHIT CHAT WON'T BURN FAT" but you won't need to if you never put it on in the first place.